To help states retain teachers and recruit the next generation into the profession, this brief examines teacher compensation policies in states and how adjustments could help reverse teacher shortage trends. The report looks at teacher compensation packages as a whole, including data on salary, health insurance, retirement and other benefits. It…

In 2013 California adopted a new watershed state finance policy, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to drive more resources to students with higher needs, create more spending flexibility, and let districts decide how to spend substantial new dollars. Our analysis examines financial data from nearly all California school systems to clarify…

Policymakers know that improving teaching in our schools requires a systemic look at many policies related to educator effectiveness. For example, teacher preparation programs need to be dramatically improved and strengthened, but without accompanying reform in compensation, even highly effective and innovative schools of education are unlikely to…

As a state legislator, you're well aware of the fiscal pressures that have caused many states to change their pension systems. But you should also be aware of the impact that pension reform has on public education. This brief guide shows you how and why pension programs affect your state's efforts to attract and retain the best teachers. It…

After years of non-stop increases--national k-12 per-pupil spending is up by "one-third" in inflation-adjusted dollars since 1995--schools now face the near-certainty of repeated annual budget cuts for the first time since the Great Depression. In some states and districts, reductions will be dramatic--well into the double digits. And…

This report is an attempt to classify and interpret the new pieces of state legislation influencing the teaching occupation: how teachers are trained, licensed, inducted, and compensated. The historical basis of recent teacher reforms and the concepts of teaching that these new policies embody are analyzed. Examined are trends in state teacher…

This report addresses one central issue: the nature and extent of the teacher shortage in Arizona. Its purpose is to inform policymakers and help prevent poor policy decisions and wasted resources. The report presents new research along with policy and program recommendations intended to serve as points of departure for understanding and…

A Missouri school system has cut benefit costs by establishing a self-funded health insurance plan for employees. Reviews areas to consider and ways to set up such a plan. (MD)

This report provides an overview of the findings of 3 studies conducted between 1995 and 1998 on school-based performance award (SBPA) programs. Such programs provide teachers, and often other school staff, with pay bonuses when their school as a whole achieves specific educational objectives. The studies focused on programs in the state of…

A federal district court judge in Iowa ruled that an education service agency unreasonably denied equal employment opportunity to a handicapped applicant for a teaching position. The agency based its decision on the candidate's inability to meet physical requirements for job functions that the court held nonessential. (PGD)

Information about pensions offered to employees of 17 Ontario universities is presented. For each of the 17 universities' pension plans, the following types of information are provided: type of plan; eligibility; member contribution; university contribution; benefits on normal retirement, on early retirement, on termination, and on death; model…

Presents an interview with the chairperson of a regional committee of the Soviet teachers' trade union. Includes comments on the role of the trade union during perestroika, the development of union independence from the government, and an experimental program replacing some city committees with councils of trade union committee chairpersons. (DK)

This monograph provides information on the many aspects of teacher compensation and incentive plans, focusing on those programs that seek to attract and retain high-quality teachers in the profession. Information was synthesized from reports provided by various school districts around the nation. The monograph presents state-by-state data on…

Discusses employers' duty to accommodate employees' requests for religious leave, based on the case of "Ansonia Board of Education v. Philbrook." A school board denied a high school teacher's request for three days of paid, personal business leave to supplement his paid religious leave. The final court decision turned on "reasonable…

Proposes the use of teacher sabbaticals to improve the quality of teachers. Includes a list of recommendations for implementing a sabbatical policy. (MD)