Over a Quarter of Schools Lack a Full-Time Registered Nurse: Staffing Agency Reveals States Hit Hardest by Shortages as Schools Struggle to Fill Critical Healthcare Gaps
As flu season intensifies and cases of childhood asthma, diabetes, and severe allergies continue to rise, a critical healthcare crisis is unfolding in schools across the country: a severe shortage of school nurses. Soliant Health, a leading healthcare and education staffing agency, highlights the states most affected by the shortage and underscores the urgent need for action.
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) recommend that every school have at least one registered nurse (RN). However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates only 64,240 registered nurses employed in elementary through high schools—leaving roughly 29.1% of schools without a registered nurse.
“For many children, the school nurse is their primary healthcare provider,” explains Lesley Slaughter, Senior Vice President of Education at Soliant Health. “Without them, students in low-income and rural communities are left even more vulnerable to untreated illnesses and emergencies.”
The Hidden Health Crisis in America’s Schools
School nurses often serve as the first line of defense against medical emergencies, chronic illness management, and public health crises. Yet, due to budget constraints, a declining workforce, and increasing student healthcare needs, many schools are being forced to rely on teachers and administrators—who lack medical training—to handle life-threatening situations.
“We’re asking educators to play the role of nurses in addition to teaching, which is not only unfair but also dangerous,” says Slaughter. “A diabetic child experiencing a severe drop in blood sugar or a student having an asthma attack needs immediate medical attention—without a trained nurse on-site, those situations can escalate quickly.”
Which States Are Most at Risk?
The impact of the school nurse shortage is not evenly distributed. Using workforce projections data from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Soliant identifies states that are expected to experience the most significant RN shortages by 2037:
- North Carolina – 22% shortage
- Washington – 22% shortage
- Maryland – 20% shortage
- South Carolina – 19% shortage
- Michigan – 19% shortage
- New Mexico – 19% shortage
- Oklahoma – 18% shortage
- California – 18% shortage
- Idaho – 17% shortage
- Georgia – 17% shortage
“These shortages are exacerbating an already strained system, with many school districts forced to rotate nurses between multiple campuses or eliminate the role altogether,” X reveals. “Moreover, the shortage is hitting low-income and rural communities hardest, where access to healthcare outside of school is already limited.”
What Can Be Done?
Despite the growing crisis, solutions are available:
- Increased funding for school nurse positions to ensure every student has access to adequate healthcare.
- Innovative staffing solutions, such as telehealth services and mobile nursing units, to support schools in underserved areas.
- Better recruitment and retention strategies, such as higher salaries or student loan forgiveness programs for nurses working in schools.
- Expand scholarships or training programs for nursing students specializing in school health.
- Utilize short-term staffing solutions to address immediate needs, such as travel or contract school nurses.
As flu season continues and student health needs grow, the time to address the school nurse shortage is now. For more information on school healthcare staffing, please visit Soliant here.
About Soliant
Soliant is a leader in human capital solutions within the education and healthcare sectors. It operates offices in Atlanta, Tampa, Jacksonville, Houston, San Diego, and Greenville. The company identifies and recruits highly skilled healthcare professionals across a wide range of specialties and connects them with healthcare providers in the education, nursing, and pharmacy segments, primarily on a temporary basis. For more information, visit soliant.com.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
