In a victory for unions, a California appeals court on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that found the state’s job protections for teachers were unconstitutional and kept students from getting a good education.

The original ruling in Vergara v. California was viewed as an important breakthrough for those who argued it should be easier to fire bad teachers. The case is being watched closely for its potential impact on teacher employment practices and education policies nationwide.

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But William Koski, a law professor at Stanford University and education policy expert, said the case hasn’t had the ripple effect originally predicted.

Mr. Koski said the ruling showed that the appeals court needed more evidence tying the allegations made by the plaintiffs to specific impacts on students.

“This ruling is very much a product of Judge Treu’s opinion, which was very thin on factual findings,” he said. “And typically, with these kinds of cases, and especially with the implications of these kinds of cases, we see very detailed findings that connect the allegations to actual harm suffered by kids.”