A new study paints a grim picture of public school teacher pay in the U.S., including Louisiana. Something called the “teacher pay penalty” has become the preferred metric to illustrate the ever-widening gulf between teachers’ salaries compared to those of similarly educated professions. The consequence, according to educators, is a deepening national teacher shortage.
As Louisiana Public Radio reports, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), the pay penalty stood at a record level of 26.9% in 2024. By comparison, Louisiana’s teacher pay penalty stands at 28.2%. In our four-state region other state levels include:
- Oklahoma (32.6%);
- Arkansas (24.5%)
- Texas (23%)
Nationally, the teacher pay penalty has grown significantly over the last three decades. In the late 1990s, teachers made about 6% less. Now it’s almost 27%, according to the EPI and CEPR study. Although teachers typically receive better benefits than other professionals, researchers found that advantage wasn’t enough to offset the wage gap, not even by half. So, in the 2021 Legislative Session, House Concurrent Resolution NO. 39 (HCR 39) called for the creation of the Teacher Recruitment, Recovery, and Retention Task Force to study issues related to teacher shortages in Louisiana. The group commissioned a study, prepared by Baton Rouge Based-SSA Consultants, and released in June 2023.
This “Teacher Recruitment and Retention Compensation Study” delivered five recommendations, including one with the heading:Begin Eliminating the Teacher Wage Penalty by Raising Teacher Pay 25% by 2025. The recommendation states:
· The state and local school systems should recognize elimination of the teacher wage penalty as the priority strategic goal for teacher compensation in Louisiana and begin eliminating the existing teacher wage penalty by raising teacher pay 25% by 2025.
Regardless of the task force’s findings and recommendations, Louisiana lawmakers voted to give teachers a one-time $2,000 stipend again this year instead of a permanent pay raise, along with $1,000 for school support workers. Even the teacher stipend money was not included in the governor’s proposed budget earlier this year. That exclusion would have, in effect, meant a pay cut for teachers, which did not happen.
