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Public pensions continue to be one of the biggest fiscal challenges confronting state and local governments. Even before the onset of the Great Recession, many state and local government plans were struggling to meet their pension and retirement health care obligations. While the run-up in the equity markets in recent years might have alleviated some of the fiscal pressures faced by public sector pension plans, there continue to be major challenges ahead on this front. This webinar from the Southern Legislative Conference provides an overview of the latest state pension trends alongside presentations from two SLC states on the specific measures initiated to bolster the funding positions of their plans.

As federal standardized tests fall out of favor, many states are exploring alternative measures on which to base their school accountability systems. In this free CSG eCademy webcast, presenters reviewed alternative measures for school accountability, charter schools, teacher assessments and student assessments.

The importance of ensuring effective teacher preparation programs, or TPPs, continues to be an issue of significant interest to state policymakers. As the focus of teacher education increasingly shifts from training to preparing, several states are undertaking new approaches to identifying and promoting successful TPPs. Louisiana and Tennessee have developed statewide systems that track the academic growth of a teacher’s P-12 students back to the preparation program from which that teacher graduated. This webinar focused on strategies by Southern states to ensure teachers are well-prepared for the classroom.

The American judicial system is complicated. How does a case get to the United States Supreme Court? Why are some cases heard in federal court and others in state court? Why do courts refuse to decide some issues? This free CSG eCademy webcast features Lisa Soronen, executive director of the State and Local Legal Center, and Paul Clement, partner at Bancroft PLLC and former U.S. solicitor general who has argued more than 75 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. The presenters explain the basics of how our court system works and how the decisions of this complex judicial system impact state governments.