In this brief, we examine an important but obscure form of state spending on K-12 education-state subsidies of school district pension costs. In 2018, this exceeded $19 billion across 23 states. To put that amount into perspective, 2018 federal spending on Title I programs was $15.8 billion. This revenue stream is often ignored in analyses of…

Today, nine out of 10 Americans age 65 and older depend on Social Security benefits to lead a comfortable and secure retirement. Among all Americans over age 65, Social Security makes up more than half of their household income. This brief outlines the history of Social Security benefits in the public sector, describes the safe harbor rule and how…

To improve the finances of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, which serves almost 1.5 million workers and retirees, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation in spring 2019 that gradually raises plan contributions by the state, school districts, and employees. Additional contribution hikes may be necessary to close the plan's funding gap,…

In 2019, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) began exploratory data collection for the School Pension Survey (SPS). The SPS is a new data collection of elementary/secondary school teacher pension data collected at the school district level. The SPS was developed primarily in response to public demand for data on teacher and other…

In "Are Texas Teacher Retirement Benefits Adequate?," authors Chad Aldeman and Anthony Randazzo analyze the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) of Texas and find it is not serving all of its members well. Most members will leave their teaching service in Texas with inadequate retirement benefits, and the unfunded liabilities the system has…

On February 24, 2017, all of the authors of the state-of-the-state manuscripts published in the "Journal of Education Finance" met in Cincinnati, Ohio, to participate in a roundtable discussion focused on recent legislative actions in 38 states. A majority of those papers were revised to reflect a final report on legislative actions…

Districts across the country are facing severe shortages of teachers--especially in certain subjects (math, science, special education, career and technical education, and bilingual education) and in specific schools (urban, rural, high-poverty, high-minority, and low-achieving). The severity of the teacher shortage problem varies significantly by…

States are doing much to bolster teacher education, training and professional development in recognition that challenges exist in the sustenance of a pipeline of qualified educators in all areas, including career and technical education (CTE). A recent brief, "Teacher Shortage Undermines CTE," by the National Association of State…

While it is generally understood that defined benefit pension systems concentrate benefits on career teachers and impose costs on mobile teachers, there has been very little analysis of the magnitude of these effects. The authors develop a measure of implicit redistribution of pension wealth among teachers at varying ages of separation. Compared…

Working with Richard Ingersoll, professor of Education and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) examined and analyzed data from the "Schools and Staffing Survey" (SASS), the largest and most comprehensive source of data on teachers, gathered from a nationally…

This booklet provides a history of teacher retirement benefits in the state of Texas from 1937-97, offering highlights of important state legislation related to retirement and its benefits. In 1936, Texas citizens approved an amendment to the Texas constitution establishing a retirement system for public school employees. Enacting legislation…

This report presents the Texas edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's 2008 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook." The 2008 "Yearbook" focuses on how state policies impact the retention of effective new teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into three areas that encompass 15 goals. Broadly, these goals examine…

This report presents the Teacher Retirement System of Texas's (TRS's) strategic plan for teacher retirement in the state of Texas for the years 1999-2003. The mission of the TRS is to deliver retirement and related benefits authorized by law for members and their beneficiaries and to prudently invest and manage the assets held in trust for members…

Published four times a year by the Texas Junior College Teachers Association (TJCTA), this newsletter discusses events affecting Texas Junior Colleges and their faculty, chronicles the efforts and activities of the TJCTA, and provides a forum for discourse on topics in community college education. Most of the September 1993 issue is devoted to an…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) Are They Ready? National Study Reveals Civics…