Social studies and history teachers should be free to expose students to controversial ideas and to teach critical thinking skills. But are they free? Do they have the constitutional right--call it academic freedom--to teach what they want and to discuss controversial issues in the classroom? The short answer is "no." In this article,…

In this article, the author makes the point that social studies teachers have a "professional responsibility" to educate students, no matter what protections might or might not be provided by the law, and that "as professionals, their expertise about content, pedagogy, and their students makes it not just acceptable, but mandatory,…

Policy discussions about teacher quality and teacher "shortages" often focus on recruitment and retention of young teachers. However, attention has begun to focus on the incentive effects of teacher retirement benefit systems, particularly given their rising costs and the large unfunded liabilities. In this paper we analyze accrual of…

There is significant interest in reforming retirement plans for public school employees, particularly in light of current market conditions. This paper presents an overview of the various types of state regulation of public pension plans that affect possibilities for reform. Several states have legal protections that effectively prevent a state…