Giving Compass' Take:

• Graham Vyse explains how different legislators are responding to teachers' strikes in wildly different ways. 

• How can funders best support teachers to improve outcomes for students? 

• Learn why teachers are leaving their jobs


Do teachers need more free-speech protections? That's the case made this week by educators protesting in South Carolina.

Thousands of South Carolina teachers rallied outside their state capitol Wednesday, demanding pay raises, more planning time, increased school funding -- and, in a twist, more legal protections for their freedom of speech.

SC for Ed, the grassroots activist group that organized the demonstration, told CNN that many teachers fear protesting or speaking up about education issues, worrying they’ll face retaliation at work. Saani Perry, a teacher in Fort Mill, S.C., told CNN that people in his profession are “expected to sit in the classroom and stay quiet and not speak [their] mind.”

Teachers across the country are raising similar concerns about retaliation. Such fears aren't unfounded: Lawmakers in some states that saw strikes last year have introduced bills this year that would punish educators for skipping school to protest.

In West Virginia, where striking teachers initiated a national wave of rallies last year, lawmakers considered a bill that would have withheld teachers' pay each day their protests closed schools. Teachers went back on strike to protest the bill, which was quickly abandoned. In Arizona, which also saw widespread teacher protests last year, legislators took up several protest punishment bills, including one that would have fined teachers $5,000 for school closures that they caused. In Oklahoma, lawmakers proposed making it illegal for teachers to protest (striking already is illegal) and revoking their certifications if they do.

Read the full article about legislators' response to teachers' strikes by Graham Vyse at Governing Magazine.