Restricting seniority as a factor in public school district layoffs: Analyzing the impact of state legislation on graduation rates

Dabbs, Christine (2018): Restricting seniority as a factor in public school district layoffs: Analyzing the impact of state legislation on graduation rates.

Abstract

Following the Great Recession, employment in the local education sector fell by about 364,000. This paper seeks to capture any effect of states' teacher layoff legislation on public high school graduation rates. I analyze whether state legislation that prohibits or limits the use of seniority in layoff decisions has an impact on graduation rates. I find that, all else held constant, such legislation increases the yearly growth of district graduation rates by 0.2 percentage points on average. This is economically significant, as the average yearly increase in the national graduation rate from 2010-11 to 2015-16 was 1 percentage point. When states prohibit or limit using seniority to determine a layoff order, districts must utilize other considerations such as teacher quality. In states with such legislation, teachers remaining following layoffs are likely more effective as opposed to ones in states that used seniority to determine the layoff order.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Efficiency; Human capital; Layoffs; Seniority; Rate of return; State legislation
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H75 - State and Local Government: Health ; Education ; Welfare ; Public Pensions; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I28 - Government Policy

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