School Experiences with COVID-19: October 2022

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), releases today the latest round of findings from the School Pulse Panel (SPP). These SPP data examine staffing, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) School Meal programs, school supply chain issues, learning mode offerings, and quarantine prevalence, as reported by school staff in U.S. public schools. Staffing As of October 2022, 4 percent of all public school teaching positions were vacant. The average public school had two vacant teaching positions. Eighteen percent of public schools had one teaching vacancy and 27 percent had multiple teaching vacancies. The top three teaching positions with the highest vacancy rates in public schools were special education (7 percent), English as a Second Language or bilingual education (6 percent), and computer science (5 percent) positions. A larger percentage of public schools in high-poverty neighborhoods had at least one teaching vacancy (57 percent) compared to public schools in low-poverty neighborhoods (41 percent). A larger percentage of public schools with a high-minority student body (greater than 75 percent minority) had at least one teaching vacancy (60 percent) compared to schools with a low-minority student body (25 percent or less minority; 32 percent). As of October 2022, 6 percent of all public school non-teaching staff positions were vacant. The average public school had one vacant non-teaching staff position. Sixteen percent of public schools had one non-teaching staff vacancy and 24 percent had multiple non-teaching staff vacancies. The top three non-teaching staff positions with the highest vacancy rates in public schools were tutors (9 percent), transportation staff (8 percent), and custodial staff (8 percent). Food Services As of October 2022, 88 percent of public schools participated in USDA School Meal programs, a decrease from the 94 percent of schools that reported participating as of March 2022.  Seventy-three percent of public schools participating in USDA School Meal programs reported that it was about the same or easier to operate USDA School Meal programs during this school year (2022–23) compared to the 2021–22 school year.  Sixty-nine percent of public schools that participated in USDA School Meal programs reported that more than half of their student body utilized these programs, a decrease from the 84 percent of public schools that reported more than half of their student body utilized these programs in the 2021–22 school year.  The three challenges most commonly reported by public schools about running their meal programs (whether through the USDA School Meal programs or another meal program) were convincing parents to submit applications for free or reduced-price meals (34 percent), school food service staffing shortages (32 percent), and increased program costs (29 percent).  Eighteen percent of public schools that offered meals to students (whether through the USDA School Meal programs or another meal program) reported not having experienced any challenges with operating their school meal programs during the 2022–23 school year.   Supply-Chain Issues As of October 2022, 83 percent of public schools reported having experienced procurement challenges that appeared to be the result of supply-chain issues during the 2022–23 school year. The most prevalent challenges were in procurement of food services (55 percent), laptops and other electronic devices (48 percent), and school furniture (30 percent).  The three most commonly reported ways that schools have responded to supply-chain issues were reducing options available to staff and students (e.g., fewer menu items; 48 percent), purchasing products that were alternatives to those originally intended (47 percent), and identifying alternate vendors for the same products (40 percent).  Learning Modes and Quarantine Prevalence During October 2022, 99 percent of public schools offered in-person learning, 17 percent offered full-time remote learning, and 6 percent offered hybrid learning.  The percentage of public schools that reported having to quarantine students in October 2022 was 30 percent, a decrease from the 47percent that had students quarantine in September 2022. Nineteen percent of public schools reported having to quarantine staff members in October 2022, a decrease from the 27percent that had staff quarantine in September 2022.    The data released today can be found at the COVID-19 dashboard at https://ies.ed.gov/schoolsurvey/.