As the economy and governments are being faced with economic cutbacks, state governments are being forced to take into consideration new elements. One of these is teacher tenure, which is often awarded after a teacher has worked for a district for five years. After this year, school districts often have a harder time laying off or firing the teacher due to added expense. This has brought controversy on both sides of the fence. This could mean a change in a tradition that has been a staple of education for a long time. Educators, administrators and government officials will have to find a common ground on this issue.
Stringent requirements for student education have been changed as legislators continue to tighten the grip on accountability in schools. This is especially true for students who are in special education as the movement is now going towards more time in the regular classroom for those who do not have severe disabilities. Regular education teachers are scrambling to keep up in some cases as student numbers go up in the classroom as children with multiple problems are coming in. This is eventually going to lead to more special education teachers working in the regular classroom to provide services.
Another factor in changing legislation to continued argument over school vouchers, which has been proposed in the past. In this case, parents who are unable to find a quality performing school in their district can get a voucher to send their child to a private school. This has been argued against as it is seen as taking away educational funding from public schools that are already struggling to keep up in some areas. This issue will continue to be contended at both the state and local government level. It has become imperative for educators and administrators to keep abreast of the current changes in educational legislation to know how it will directly affect them and their students.