Summer unemployment benefits could increase K–12 support staff incomes by $1.2 billion nationwide

A new Economic Policy Institute report outlines the working conditions of K-12 school support staff and finds that these workers would benefit from gaining eligibility to unemployment insurance (UI) benefits in the summer.

Adding to woefully low compensation and inadequate hours, school support staff must forgo months of income in the summer. Minnesota became the first state to extend summer UI eligibility to school support staff in 2023, which led to these workers receiving nearly $40 million in unemployment benefits. If all 50 states and D.C. enacted policies like Minnesota's, school support staff incomes would increase by $1.2 billion per year, providing critical support to these low-paid workers and their families.

The analysis includes five occupation groups that make up the K-12 education support workforce: food service workers; janitors and custodians; paraprofessionals (teacher assistants and child care workers); school bus drivers; and non-supervisory office and administration workers. In 2022, there were more than 2.3 million K-12 education support workers in the United States-and they are disproportionately Black and brown, women, and older workers. Roughly a quarter (24.8%) of all K-12 education workers are support staff, with the largest occupational group being paraprofessionals.

"Instead of punishing workers for wanting to serve in public schools, states should follow Minnesota's lead by providing school support staff with unemployment insurance benefits during the summer. This would be an easy way to help stabilize K-12 school staffing, improve learning environments for students, and provide economic security for this essential group of workers," said Dave Kamper, co-author of the report and senior state policy strategist for EPI's Economic Analysis and Research Network.

Despite being critical to the success of the country's education system, K-12 support staff are paid low wages while working fewer weeks than the typical worker. The median annual earnings of food service workers ($21,337) and paraprofessionals ($24,496) are less than half of the earnings of the typical U.S. worker ($49,713). School bus drivers earn slightly more than half (55.1%) of what the median worker does, while janitors earn just 70% of the median worker's earnings.

Given these low wages, it is no wonder that school districts have had a difficult time recruiting and retaining school support staff since the pandemic. Some of the most poorly compensated positions-such as food service workers, janitors, and school bus drivers-have seen the largest percentage declines in employment since before the pandemic.

States expanding UI eligibility for school support staff during the summer would help school districts recruit and retain these essential staff.