Understanding the Allocation of Student Support Personnel in Public Schools

In this study, we extend research on the allocation of educational resources to an underdeveloped domain—the distribution of counselors, psychologists, and social workers (i.e., support personnel) to schools. Using administrative data for all North Carolina public schools in the 2007–2008 through 2015–2016 school years, we measure the allocation of support personnel to schools, track secular changes in support personnel ratios during a period in which state budgetary provisions contracted and expanded, and assess the distribution of support personnel to high-poverty and high-minority schools. We calculate more accurate support personnel ratios and show that trends in support personnel ratios differ across school levels. We find that districts concentrate support personnel in high-need schools, however, this compensatory pattern is narrowing over time. Our findings call for further research on the allocation of support personnel and charge states/districts to calculate more accurate and granular support personnel ratios to inform decision making.