Assessing the Potential Impact of Seniority-Based Reduction in Force Policies on the Changing Teacher Workforce in Connecticut Schools

Project Summary

Over the last decade, policymakers and education leaders in Connecticut have prioritized efforts to improve the quality and diversity of the teacher workforce. Persistent focus and targeted investments in strong teacher pipelines have helped increase teacher diversity from 8% in 2014 to 12% of the workforce identifying as teachers of color in 2024.

Through a research partnership with the Wheelock Educational Policy Center (WEPC) at Boston University, the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) has monitored workforce trends and rigorously evaluated policy initiatives aligned with state priorities. In light of district budget shortfalls and discussions of teacher layoffs across Connecticut in spring 2025, CSDE engaged WEPC to examine:

What is the potential impact of seniority-based reduction in force policies on the composition, distribution and effectiveness of the teacher workforce within the state?

Key Findings

For this analysis, WEPC focused on the 15% of teachers newly hired into a Connecticut school district in the last three years, as this group is likely to be let go first. Findings suggest that compared with the overall teacher workforce in the state, newly hired teachers in Connecticut are:

• Twice as likely to be teachers of color
• More likely to work in higher-need schools and serving historically marginalized students
• Just as likely to be licensed in high-need shortage areas like special education and English as a Second Language
• Equally likely to be highly effective, as measured by student performance on standardized assessments

This analysis suggests that a seniority-based reduction in force approach may undermine gains in teacher diversity and quality and disproportionately affect the state’s highest need students. While these findings reflect statewide trends, impacts will inevitably vary across districts given the unique composition and distribution of their local workforce.