A Bifurcation in the Labor Force? Public and Charter School Teachers

• In Event: Teachers' Choices and Experiences in the Charter Sector

Abstract

Charter school programs continue to expand; in 2014 charter school student enrollment expanded encompassed 5 percent of all students. Relatively little is known about charter school effects on the teacher labor market. This paper explores teacher employment in Pennsylvania from 2009 through 2016. It finds that charter school teachers earn 12,951 dollars less than public school teachers even when controlling for experience and degrees. Furthermore, despite Pennsylvania law requiring seventy five percent of charter school teachers to hold the same credentials as public school teachers, teacher transfers between the sectors is almost non-existent. This data suggests that the teacher labor force may be bifurcating between higher paid, higher credentialed public school teachers and lower paid charter school teachers.

Author

• William Lief Evison Esbenshade, Stanford University