School Nurses in U.S. Public Schools

DATA POINT

April 2020

NCES 2020-086

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

A Publication of the National Center for Education Statistics at IES

This Data Point uses school questionnaire data from the 2015–16 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) and 

from the 2011–12 and 2007–08 Schools and Staffing Surveys (SASS). These data include nationally representative 

information for public K–12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This Data 

Point compares the presence of full-time, part-time, and either type of school nurse from the 2007–08, 2011–12, and 

2015–16 school years and the differences in the presence of school nurses by selected school characteristics.

The American Academy of Pediatrics 

recommended in June 2016 that 

schools have at least one full-time 

registered nurse available for 

students’ health needs.1

 SASS and 

NTPS surveys of schools from the 

2007–08, 2011–12, and 2015–16 school 

years asked how many staff worked 

as full-time or part-time nurses 

at their school and provide trend 

information on the prevalence of 

school nurses up to this time point.

Neither credentials nor demographic 

characteristics of school nurses 

were collected in SASS or NTPS, 

though these have been researched 

by the National Association of 

School Nurses.2

Has the presence of school nurses 

in U.S. public schools changed 

over time? (FIGURE 1)

• During the 2015–16 school year, 

just over half (52 percent) of 

public schools had a full-time 

nurse. Counting part-time 

nurses, over three-quarters 

(82 percent) had at least one fulltime or one part-time nurse. 

• The percentage of public schools 

with a full-time nurse increased 

by 4 percentage points between 

2007–08 and 2015–16 (48 to 

52 percent), as did the percentage 

with either a full- or a part-time 

nurse (78 to 82 percent). 

FIGURE 1. Percentage of public schools with at least one full-time, part-time, or any nurse: 2007–08, 2011–12, 

and 2015–16 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) “Public School Data File,” 

2007–08 and 2011–12; National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Data File,” 2015–16. 

Data in this report are from the 2015–16 NTPS and from the 2007–08 and 2011–12 SASS surveys. Both sources are nationally representative sample surveys. 

To learn more, visit https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/ and https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/. 

For questions about content or to view this report online, go to https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020086.
School Nurses in U.S. Public Schools

• There was no change in the 

presence of at least one part-time 

nurse in schools (32 percent). 

How does the presence of 

school nurses differ by school 

characteristics? (FIGURE 2)

Data from NTPS and SASS also 

include details about the public 

schools served by school nurses.

• In the 2015–16 school year, a 

higher percentage of traditional 

public schools than public 

charter schools had at least 

one school nurse (84 percent 

compared to 52 percent). 

• Differences by urbanicity were 

not as pronounced. Eighty-four 

percent of public schools in towns 

and suburbs had a full- or parttime nurse, which is higher than 

the 81 percent of city schools and 

78 percent of rural schools with a 

full- or part-time nurse. 

• Higher percentages of public 

primary and middle schools 

(86 and 87 percent, respectively) 

had at least one full-time or parttime nurse than high schools 

(75 percent) or combined schools 

(60 percent). 

• Among public schools that 

participated in the free or 

reduced-price lunch (FRPL) 

program, those with higher FRPL 

eligibility rates had lower rates of 

school nurses. Seventy-nine 

percent of schools with FRPL 

eligibility rates of 75 percent or 

higher had a full- or part-time 

nurse, increasing to 87 percent 

where FRPL eligibility was 

under 35 percent. Less than half 

of public schools (45 percent) 

that did not participate in the 

program had a school nurse. 

Endnotes 

1 Holmes, B.W., Allison, M., Ancona, 

R., Attisha, E., Beers, N., De Pinto, C., 

Gorski, P., Kjolhede, C., Lerner, M., 

Weiss-Harrison, A., and Young, T. (2016). 

Role of the School Nurse in Providing 

School Health Services. Pediatrics, 137(6): 

e20160852. 

2 Willgerodt, M.A., Brock, D.M., and 

Maughan, E.M. (2018). Public School 

Nursing Practice in the United States. The 

Journal of School Nursing, 34(3): 232–244.

FIGURE 2. Percentage of public schools with at least one full-time or part-time nurse: 2015–16

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School 

Data File,” 2015–16. 

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Data Point presents information on education topics of current interest. It was authored by Maura 

Spiegelman of NCES. Estimates based on samples are subject to sampling variability, and apparent differences may not be statistically significant. All stated 

differences are statistically significant at the .05 level, with no adjustments for multiple comparisons. In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES 

surveys, efforts are made to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors such as item nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other 

systematic error.