Fifty-three percent of public school leaders felt their schools were understaffed as they began the 2022-23 academic year, according to survey results released by the U.S. Department of Education.

The top five understaffed positions were special education teachers, transportation staff, custodial staff, mental health professionals and general elementary teachers, the National Center for Education Statistics found in its survey of 904 schools.

School leaders reported hiring challenges that included too few applicants, not enough qualified candidates and inadequate salary and benefits.

Some education finance experts contend that the higher vacancy rate is partly related to new jobs created with historic levels of federal education funding, rather than educators quitting en masse.

Only 20% of schools reported in the 2022 NCES survey that they had been understaffed before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Special education staffing has been a significant challenge since before the pandemic, school leaders said.

K-12 Dive, Sept. 27