One-fifth of vacant teacher positions remained unfilled at the start of this school year, according to new federal data.
On average, public schools reported having six open teacher positions ahead of the 2024-25 school year, according to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ School Pulse Panel, a bimonthly survey on how schools have responded to and recovered from pandemic disruptions. By the first day of school, 79 percent of those positions were filled.
Teacher shortages—particularly in certain subject areas—have been a challenge for schools especially for the past couple of years. Teaching salaries have largely failed to keep up with inflation and teachers’ morale has taken a hit following the COVID-19 pandemic as student behavior and mental health problems rise.
The latest data, collected from a sample of 1,392 public schools from Aug. 13-27, show a slight improvement over last school year. In the 2024-25 survey, 74 percent of schools said they had difficulty filling one or more vacant teaching positions with a certified teacher before the start of the school year. At the start of 2023-24, 79 percent of schools said the same.
Improvement doesn’t mean that schools’ staffing challenges are over, however. According to the survey, 64 percent of schools said “an overall lack of qualified candidates” was a top challenge in finding teachers to fill vacancies, and 62 percent said “too few candidates applying” was a top challenge.
Special education, ESL remain difficult positions to fill
Schools are finding it especially difficult to recruit specialized teachers, including for English-as-a-second-language classes and special education. Among both elementary and middle schools, 74 percent reported having difficulty hiring special education teachers, and 66 percent of high schools reported the same.
Sixty-nine percent of high schools reported having difficulty hiring English-as-a-second-language or bilingual education teachers, with 59 percent of elementary schools reporting the same.
Schools also struggled to hire non-teaching staff. Around 40 percent of vacancies for transportation staff went unfilled at the start of the school year, with 90 percent of schools reporting that they had difficulty filling those positions. And a quarter of vacancies for custodial staff and classroom aides similarly went unfilled.
Even so, schools found it easier to fill non-teaching staff positions this year than last year. Sixty-nine percent of public schools said they had difficulty filling non-teaching positions before the start of the 2024-25 school year compared to 80 percent that said the same in 2023-24.
Fewer schools are offering wraparound services
The School Pulse Panel survey also asked schools about the types of services they are providing students.
In the 2024-25 survey, 48 percent of schools said they use a “community school” or “wraparound services” model, in which the school partners with local nonprofits or government agencies to provide mental and physical health care, nutrition, housing assistance, and other services for students and their families.
That number represents a significant drop from the 60 percent of schools that said the same in the 2023-24 survey.
Sept. 30 marked the deadline for schools to commit their last round of federal COVID-19 relief funds, which have helped schools pay for those services in recent years and offer more of them. As of 2022, school districts were projected to spend over $7 billion in ESSER funding on efforts to improve students’ mental and physical health, according to an analysis from FutureEd, an education think tank based out of Georgetown University.
Although a minority of schools are using the community school model, most schools—89 percent—provide at least some community services for students and their families. That number, however, is a decrease from the 94 percent that said the same in the 2023-24 school year.
Fewer schools—61 percent—are also providing mental health care services to the broader school community—parents, grandparents, and other adults connected to the school—through partnerships with outside organizations. In the 2023-24 school year, 66 percent of schools reported providing those services. And just 46 percent of schools reported providing food and nutrition assistance to the community through programs like food pantries and on-site cooking classes for parents and guardians. That figure was down from 55 percent in the 2023-24 school year.
