Most districts still struggle to fill specialist roles

districts struggle – New national data from BlazerWorks shows a K–12 staffing crisis is tightening district operations heading into 2026–27, with 90.4% of district leaders reporting rising demand for specialist staff and 25.2% pointing to last-minute vacancies and coverage gaps as

By the time the 2026–27 school year gets underway. many districts are already bracing for the same problem—only this time. it’s showing up in bigger numbers. Ninety percent of district leaders report increased demand for specialist staff. and for a growing share. the pressure isn’t waiting for hiring seasons to sort itself out.

More than nine in 10 district leaders say demand for specialized school staff has increased over the past three years. In that group, nearly one-third—32.4%—say it increased significantly. For district teams, that kind of upward shift doesn’t just mean more job openings to manage. It also means more pressure to fill positions quickly. while the people already in place feel the strain of staying afloat.

That strain is landing in schools as scheduling chaos and coverage gaps. One in four district leaders—25.2%—cite last-minute vacancies or coverage gaps as one of their biggest staffing challenges. In practice. that can turn predictable support into reactive work. disrupting routines and forcing constant pivots just to keep services running.

Hiring remains the top hurdle. When district leaders were asked about their most pressing operational challenge. 28.6% said filling open specialist roles is their number one issue. The positions most often described as hardest to staff include special education teachers (16.4%). school psychologists (15.6%). speech-language pathologist assistants (15.2%). and school nurses (14.2%).

As specialist vacancies stretch longer, the burden doesn’t stay confined to job openings. Nearly one-quarter of district leaders—24.6%—say coordinating schedules and caseloads across schools is among their biggest operational challenges. When staffing pressure changes who can cover which students and when. the fallout reaches well beyond hiring teams and spreads across the support staff schools rely on.

Jaime Sowers. Ed.D. Director of the Clinical Advisory Team at BlazerWorks. framed the human cost of that ongoing workload in plain terms: “When staffing challenges pile up. it can be easy for school professionals to push their own wellbeing to the bottom of the list. ” Sowers said. “But protecting even small moments of time during the workday can help. Short breaks. clearer boundaries. asking for support early. and creating simple routines around planning and communication can all help reduce the feeling of carrying everything at once.”.

Taken together. the figures point to a cycle districts are struggling to break: rising demand for specialized staff. last-minute coverage gaps. difficulty filling open roles. and the downstream pressure of coordinating caseloads across schools. For educators and students. the question heading into 2026–27 is whether districts can find specialists fast enough to keep support steady—or whether schools will continue leaning on the same overextended people to cover what’s missing.

For more on district management, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub. This press release originally appeared online.

K-12 staffing crisis specialist staff demand district leaders last-minute vacancies coverage gaps special education teachers school psychologists school nurses speech-language pathologist assistants BlazerWorks survey school district management 2026-27 academic year