Of the schools with a usable federal support-staff record, 77.1% report more than zero counselor full-time equivalents and 69.0% report more than zero nurse FTE. The comparable shares are lower for psychologists and social workers—but each percentage needs more context than the word “access” suggests.
91,064
largest role denominator
2021–22
CRDC reporting year
4 roles
analyzed separately
We analyzed the staff full-time-equivalent fields stored on this site’s school records. The source is the 2021–22 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), joined by NCES school identifier to the current directory. A school is included in a role’s denominator only when that specific field is reported; missing values are not counted as zero.
What the four reported fields show
| Staff role | Schools with a known value | Schools reporting >0 FTE | Positive share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counselors | 91,006 | 70,141 | 77.1% |
| Nurses | 91,064 | 62,838 | 69.0% |
| Psychologists | 91,064 | 44,211 | 48.5% |
| Social workers | 91,064 | 33,717 | 37.0% |
Counselors have the highest positive-report share in these records; social workers have the lowest. That does not establish how many students receive services, how much time a professional spends on campus, or whether another district employee or outside provider fills a similar function.
Full-time equivalent is an allocation measure. A value of 1.0 may represent one full-time position; 0.5 may reflect a half-time role or time split between schools. A value above zero therefore means the record contains some staffing allocation, not necessarily a dedicated professional present every school day.
Counselor reporting differs by school level
| School level | Known counselor records | Reporting >0 counselor FTE | Positive share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary | 49,725 | 35,889 | 72.2% |
| Middle | 15,227 | 13,780 | 90.5% |
| High | 20,564 | 17,817 | 86.6% |
Middle schools show the highest positive counselor share at 90.5%, followed by high schools at 86.6%. Elementary schools are lower at 72.2%. These differences may reflect how roles are organized and reported, not simply whether students can obtain help.
Why this is not a counselor caseload measure
A caseload or student-to-counselor ratio requires compatible enrollment and staffing from the same reporting period, plus confidence about which duties and students belong in the denominator. Our current profile enrollment is newer than the CRDC staff record, so we do not divide one by the other in this analysis.
Even a same-year ratio can hide the nature of the job. A counselor focused primarily on course scheduling may have a different workload from one providing substantial social-emotional or college-planning support. The number also says nothing about vacancies, leave, turnover, credentials, or how quickly students can get an appointment.
Questions that make the data useful
- Is this position assigned to the school, shared across campuses, or contracted?
- How many days each week is the professional normally on campus?
- Is the role currently filled, and has there been significant turnover?
- Which services does the person provide, and which duties take most of their time?
- How do students request routine help, and what happens in an urgent situation?
- Are there district-level psychologists, social workers, or nurses not visible in the school record?
Analysis notes
Each role has its own denominator because 58 fewer schools report a usable counselor value than report the other three fields. We count any value greater than zero as positive, including fractional FTE. We do not impute missing records, combine roles, or infer service quality from the presence of staff.
The dataset is historical and reflects reporting practices as well as staffing. A current school website or direct conversation with the school is the appropriate source for today’s personnel and service arrangements.
Sources and methodology
- Civil Rights Data Collection — official 2021–22 school support-staff fields.
- US School Ratings missing-data rules — why zero and not reported remain distinct.
- School data coverage report — the share of current directory schools matched to support-staff records.
