WASHINGTON, D.C. — New data shows the challenges public school districts have faced when trying to hire teachers and other staff. Eighty-six percent of K-12 public schools said they struggled to hire teachers for the 2023-2024 school year, according to data by the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. The data also finds 83 percent had trouble hiring for non-teacher positions like aides, mental health professionals and transportation staff.
In August, Boston 25 reported that Framingham needed to hire 25 percent more bus drivers before the start of the school year. The situation became so dire that the district told parents that K-6 students who live less than 2 miles from their school, and all students in grades 7-12 would not be accommodated.
It does, however, appear that sentiment is improving among public schools about their staffing levels. The new data shows 45 percent feel their school is understaffed. That’s down from 53 percent the prior academic year.
Boston Public Schools struggled to fill more than 1,000 job openings before the 2022-2023 school year. The acting school superintendent at the time said around 260 of the vacancies were for teachers. BPS employs about 11,000 people.
“Although we see a somewhat smaller share of public schools starting the new academic year feeling understaffed, the data indicate the majority of public schools are experiencing staffing challenges at the same levels they did last school year,” said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr.
NCES’s School Pulse Panel found that the most difficult teaching positions to fill entering this school year were special education, physical science, and foreign language positions. The most difficult non-teaching staff positions to fill were for transportation and custodial staff.
“This new data, collected in August, focuses on high-priority education-related topics to better understand what’s happening in public schools, and to serve as a guidepost to inform the work of education leaders and policymakers looking to support them,” said Chris Chapman, NCES Associate Commissioner, Sample Surveys Division.
Beyond staffing issues, the latest SPP data also address digital learning and technology. It found that 95 percent of public schools provided digital devices, like laptops and tablets to students who needed them for the 2023-24 school year.
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