Characteristics of Public School Districts in the United States: Results from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey

This report presents selected findings from the public school district data file of the 2007–08 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey of public, private, and Bureau of Indian Education-funded (BIE) K–12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. School districts associated with public schools and library media centers in public and BIE schools are also part of SASS. Developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Institute of Education Sciences within the U.S. Department of Education and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, SASS was first conducted in school year 1987–88. Since then, SASS has been conducted five times: in school years 1990–91, 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2003–04, and, most recently, 2007–08.

The purpose of SASS is to collect information that can provide a detailed picture of U.S. elementary and secondary schools and their staff. This information is collected through the following surveys: district, school, principal, teacher, and library media center.