The Cost of Compliance: Federal Mandates and the Public Education Labor Force

• In Event: Strategic and Targeted Solutions to School Staffing Problems

Abstract

Do federal regulations drive teachers to quit their jobs? Teachers demonstrate exceptionally high intrinsic motivation for their career choice, but increasingly face additional job demands from state and federal regulations. The impact that these regulations have on teacher turnover is not well-understood, and has meaningful effects on public school education. In this study, I leverage comprehensive data on reasons cited for teacher turnover and textual analysis of Education Department regulations to demonstrate significant relationships between demand-imposing regulations and voluntary turnover. Specifically, this study considers the content of regulations as a key variable and demonstrates that not all regulations have equal impacts on teacher turnover. Similarly, there are heterogeneous effects based on the type of turnover, and regulations have a stronger impact on those who quit teaching entirely than those who move to another school.

The study also shows that some regulatory changes that alleviate demands or provide additional resources decrease voluntary turnover, and that among some sub-populations, turnover can be inhibited through factors controllable by school district administration. The results support applications of the Job-Demands-Resources model to public educators, with additional considerations for the unique working environment of public schools. The results show that red tape imposed by regulatory change adds significantly to job strain among teachers.

Author

• Daniel Rudy, University of Georgia
  Presenting Author