Why make it hard for teachers to cross state borders?

In principle, teaching is a highly portable profession, one that affords practitioners a great deal of flexibility to live and work in any part of the country. After all, wherever there are children, there are jobs for teachers. In reality, though, teachers often find that mobility comes with a price tag. Not only does every state have its own licensure system — and obtaining a new license can be a significant expense — but most state pension plans are designed to reward educators for staying in a particular state throughout their careers. For midcareer teachers, especially, moving to a new state can mean forgoing the chance to earn generous retirement benefits.

These barriers to professional mobility should be a concern because they may exacerbate the teacher shortages that are apparent in some states and dissuade talented people from considering a teaching career.

In a well-functioning labor market, workers go where there are jobs. When there are too many workers in one region and too few in another, some choose to relocate, easing shortages of labor. In the teaching profession, barriers created by pensions and licensure may dissuade the movement of qualified teachers from areas of surplus to areas of shortage. Moreover, the overall number of individuals seeking employment in the labor market may be reduced if barriers to mobility make the teaching profession less desirable, either because new entrants don’t consider teaching or inservice teachers choose to opt out of the profession following a move to a new state.