Study shows fears about Act 10’s impact on classroom are unfounded

[Geee]

Watchdog.org:

Nearly five years after the implementation of Act 10, a new study that examines the financial impact on teachers shows that many of the fears expressed about the law’s potential impact on the classroom were unfounded.

 

DEBUNKER: “This report we have put out shows that many of those claims were either greatly exaggerated and/or failed to materialize,” says CJ Szafir of WILL.

 

“We look back five years later thinking Act 10 was incredibly controversial with many politicians and public union leaders saying that Act 10 would destroy public education, hollow out the teaching workforce,” CJ Szafir, vice president of policy for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, said in a conference call with reporters. “But five years later I think it’s very much worth everyone’s time to look at whether some of those claims were true. This report we have put out shows that many of those claims were either greatly exaggerated and/or failed to materialize.”

 

Enacted in 2011, Act 10 eliminated collective bargaining for public employees, including teachers. At the time Act 10 was passed, opponents predicted that class sizes would increase as teachers would drop out of the workforce.

 

However, the researchers found in looking at data from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the U.S. Department of Education that there was little effect from Act 10 on class size.