WAYNE, PA — Frontline Education announced the release of its third annual national survey of school district leaders, reporting that while teacher shortages have eased since 2024, districts continue to face operational and financial pressures.
The report, titled “K-12 Lens 2026: Decoding the Trends Shaping District Decisions,” is based on responses from more than 1,000 district leaders nationwide and was fielded by C+C Research. The report is available at https://www.frontlineeducation.com/k12-lens-2026/.
According to the survey, 61% of districts report teacher shortages, down from 81% in 2024. Recruiting and hiring have improved for the second consecutive year, particularly in large urban districts.
However, shortages are increasing in roles such as school psychology, English language arts, career and technical education and district leadership. Special education remains the most frequently cited shortage area, with 36% of districts reporting gaps.
The report found that workload pressures remain significant, with most districts reporting that developing a single individualized education program, or IEP, requires seven or more hours.
Chronic absenteeism stands at 18%, up one percentage point from last year. Districts that track early warning indicators report absenteeism rates of 14%, compared with 21% among districts that do not.
Districts offering proactive mental and behavioral health supports reported absenteeism rates between 14% and 15%, compared with 34% in districts without those services.
On the financial side, 43% of districts reported significant funding decreases tied to legislation, and federal funding was described as the least predictable revenue source.
Despite that, 79% of districts described their budget forecasts as very or fairly accurate. Districts using peer benchmarks, enrollment context and scenario modeling tools reported stronger forecast accuracy, the report found.
Artificial intelligence adoption is expanding, with 35% of districts reporting use of AI for personalized learning. More than half of finance leaders said they would like to use AI for budgeting and monitoring tasks.
Among districts using AI for financial forecasting, 57% described last year’s forecast as very accurate, compared with fewer than 8% of districts not using AI.
Chris Collins, chief customer officer at Frontline Education, said, “With three years of data, the story is no longer about disruption, it is about discipline.”
He added that districts relying on data, reducing manual work and aligning systems around daily decisions are seeing steadier outcomes.
Frontline Education provides school administration software to more than 10,000 K-12 organizations nationwide and is part of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP).
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