Pension plans for teachers in charter schools vary widely, ranging from the state defined-benefit plans set up for regular public school teachers, to the defined-contribution, match-type plans used in other fields, to nothing at all, a new analysis finds.
The first-of-its-kind analysis, released last month by the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Institute, examines data from Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, and New York. Those states allow charter schools to choose whether to participate in a state pension plan.
Among its findings, the report notes that participation in a state pension plan differed by type, with stand-alone charter schools more likely to use the state system than those run by nonprofit charter-management organizations or by for-profit education management organizations. Levels of school participation in a state plan ranged from 90 percent or more in California to fewer than a quarter of charters in Arizona.
