The Foundation for Educational Choice and the Manhattan Institute recently commissioned a new study to examine the emerging crisis of underfunding public teacher pension plans in the states. The implications for public policy will likely be severe in the coming years. Public funding for K-12 education, and the potential for new reforms hang in the balance. In their report entitled, "Underfunded Teacher Pension Plans: It's Worse Than You Think," authors Josh Barro and Stuart Buck reveal the major disparity between what states report and the true value of unfunded liabilities for teacher pensions. States put the price tag at teacher pension liabilities at $332 billion. The study shows the red ink is actually $933 billion, nearly three times greater, when applying more cautious and realistic accounting methods. This research brief presents the following: (1) a snapshot of the study's key findings; and (2) a list of structural changes that state governments can make that would avoid funding shortfalls and rein in out-of-control public pensions. [For the full report, see ED509528.]