Wyoming's highest court just confirmed what teachers and families have said for years: the state is not paying public school teachers enough. On September 17, 2026, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature failed to fund teacher salaries at their true cost and did not adjust pay for inflation, leaving students in some districts with far less support than others. The court found this gap violates every Wyoming student's right to an adequate public education.

This ruling followed a long legal fight led by the Wyoming Education Association and eight school districts, who argued that chronic underfunding was pushing teachers out of the classroom and making it harder to hire new ones, especially in rural communities.

Now it's up to the Wyoming Legislature and Governor Mark Gordon to act. Wyoming Education Association President Kimberly Amen said the ruling recognized that "additional evidence or further developments could subsequently result in a finding that Wyoming must fund such important costs," according to WyoFile. That's a clear signal: the state needs to keep closing this gap, not stop at the minimum.

Teachers can't recruit the best people, or keep the ones already in the classroom, on salaries that don't reflect what the job actually costs to do well. Every Wyoming student deserves a qualified, well-supported teacher, no matter what district they live in.

Lawmakers now have a legal mandate, not just a moral one. Sign this petition to tell the Wyoming Legislature and Governor Gordon: fully fund teacher salaries, adjust for inflation every year, and don't wait for another lawsuit to do what's right for Wyoming's students.