The Louisiana Department of Education released a report today showing teacher attrition has held steady in the state for the third consecutive year at 12%. The release comes in response to a claim by the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana that there’s been a 25% increase in teacher retirements in recent years. The Department of Education says it granted more teaching licenses in the 2010-11 school year than it did during the 2008-2009 year, and that TRSL’s reported increase in teacher retirements covers only employees with longer tenures and specific rights to benefits. “The data show that we do not have a statewide shortage of teachers and that applications for new positions are up,” says Superintendent of Education John White. “But more important, the data show that our schools are keeping and promoting our best teachers, which is the issue we should be focused on.” TRSL says the number of teachers retiring jumped from 2,598 in the 2011 fiscal year to 3,295 in the 2012 fiscal year that ended June 30—an increase of 26.8%. The Department of Education says it issued 3,136 teaching licenses for the 2010-11 school year. The department also says that the teachers leaving the system were more likely to be “ineffective” than those who stayed. Lisa Honore, a spokeswoman for TRSL, says the organization has no comment on the department’s release today. —Adam Pearson
Editor’s note: This story has been changed since its original publication. An earlier version stated that the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana made a connection between an increase in teacher retirement and Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education reforms. A spokesperson with the TRSL says the group does not ask teachers why they are retirement and is not speculating on what the cause of an increase in teacher retirement might be.
