In March 2024, 15% of public schools nationwide reported that there were no mental health services available for teachers and staff. In other words, depending on the school, anywhere from one in ten to one in five have no mental health resources for employees.
A survey cited by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that 84% of respondents said their workplace conditions contributed to a mental health challenge. HHS also highlights that supporting mental health can help prevent declines in workplace performance.
What kinds of mental health services do schools offer?
Teachers have access to different resources depending on where they teach. Educators in the West have different options than those in the South; as does teaching in a rural versus urban school.
At schools that offer mental health support services, they may include:
- Employee assistance programs (EAPs): These are voluntary programs that help employees with both personal and work-related problems. Nearly three in five teachers and staff have access to an EAP with a mental health component (available to 58.6% of public school teachers and staff)
- Referrals to mental health services outside of school (available to 37.1% of public school teachers and staff)
- Mental health-related professional development (33.0%)
- Proactive outreach to staff members (15.5%)
- Group-based or peer support interventions (8.2%)
- Regular staff self-assessments (5.1%)
Around 4.5% of schools also reported “Other” mental health support than the options above.
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Teachers in the Northeast and West have more mental health support than those in the South or Midwest
In Western and Northeastern states, between 62.9% and 65.4% of public schools reported that staff had access to an EAP. In the Midwest and the South, 54.8%–55.2% of schools reported EAP access, a difference of at least 7.7 percentage points.
The difference in access to mental health referral services was similar: Between 40.8%–41.9% in the Northeast and the West, versus 33.7% in the Midwest and 34.5% in the South, a difference of at least 6.3 percentage points.
Urban and suburban teachers have more mental health resources than those in rural areas
Around 69% of public schools in cities and suburban areas reported that teachers had access to EAPs, but 43% of schools in smaller towns and rural areas offered the same care — a 26 percentage point gap.
Urban and suburban public schools reported more mental health support resources generally, but rural teachers had more access to “proactive outreach to staff members” (16.1% of schools), compared to teachers in cities (15.3%), suburbs (15.7%), and towns (13.9%).
Bigger schools have more mental health resources for staff
Schools with 1,000+ students reported staff mental health resources more frequently. Larger schools were more likely to offer EAPs (71.4%), referrals (55.1%), proactive outreach (17.3%), group-based or peer support interventions (12.3%), and regular staff self-assessments (6.7%).
About 38.4% of schools that reported the availability of mental health referrals had between 500-999 students. These schools also reported the most access to mental health-related professional development (34.7% of schools).
Schools with more students of color provide more mental health support
Schools where students of color made up more than 75% of the student body reported the most access to mental health resources.
The only exception was group-based or peer support interventions, which were more likely to be available at schools whose populations were between 25% and 75% students of color.
The HHS cites a framework for workplace mental health that includes ensuring psychological safety, fostering social support and inclusion, offering flexibility and autonomy, recognizing employees’ contributions, and connecting their work to a larger purpose.
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Page sources and methodology
All of the data on the page was sourced directly from government agencies. The analysis and final review was performed by USAFacts.
National Center for Education Statistics
School Pulse Panel: Surveying high-priority, education-related topics
