New Analysis: State Budgets Must Be Bolstered to Avoid Massive Teacher Layoffs

Governors have been warning for weeks that states will face budget shortfalls without federal support due to the economic impact of COVID-19. The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) now estimates the potential loss of more than 300,000 teaching positions because of the COVID-19 pandemic if state budgets are not bolstered by a federal relief package.

On average, thirty-five percent of state general expenditures are dedicated to K-12 education and 10 percent are dedicated to higher education. LPI’s analysis of the economic impact on public school districts, which is informed by data and trends from the 2008 recession, is based on an estimated 15 percent reduction in state education funding, even after accounting for CARES Act funding.

The organization argues that additional federal funding is needed to avoid the long-term impact on schools and a generation of students, and particularly students in low-income districts, that would result from teacher cuts. “Research has shown that teacher cuts during the last recession disproportionately impacted districts and schools serving students of color and students from low-income families…” for more than five years.

“Low-wealth” districts, because of their reliance on state funding, are likely to see a greater loss of teachers and are the most in need of additional assistance from federal sources.

Read the LPI blog here.