Best School Nurse Staffing Agencies in 2026

A school nurse vacancy rarely stays a simple staffing gap. Administrators may absorb health-office duties themselves, and students with chronic conditions may need alternative arrangements until a replacement starts. Field trips and bus routes can require additional planning too.

Staffing a school nurse requires both clinical hiring expertise and an understanding of how districts operate. Focused Staffing Group brings those capabilities together through FocusedEDU, its K–12 division, and Focused Behavioral, which staffs nurses and other professionals for healthcare, residential and community-based care organizations. Its experience includes work with Merakey, Keystone Human Services, and Prestige.

This guide compares school nurse staffing agencies based on their ability to navigate school calendars, student health plans, medication administration and state credential requirements.

What is the best school nurse staffing agency?

Focused Staffing Group stands out as the strongest choice for districts and charter schools seeking nurses through a focused K-12 staffing relationship. Its model suits organizations that want a candidate pipeline built around one market. The same partnership can also cover paraprofessionals, substitutes and special education professionals.

Ro Health and Amergis Education are strong national options with dedicated school nursing services and confirmed RN and LPN/LVN coverage. Maxim Healthcare is especially relevant to one-to-one nursing and students with complex medical needs. Soliant, Supplemental Health Care, Epic Special Education Staffing and AB Staffing Solutions provide additional school-based nursing and multidisciplinary staffing options.

The right agency depends on the coverage model, not just the name on the contract.

How We Evaluated School Nurse Staffing Agencies

Focused Staffing Group publishes this comparison and is also included as a ranked school nurse staffing agency. Rankings are based on publicly available service information and the types of school nursing requirements each agency appears best equipped to support as of July 2026.

Districts should independently confirm current rates, contract terms, candidate availability, licensing requirements, clinical support and geographic coverage with each agency.

Score each agency out of 100:

Best School Nurse Staffing Agencies at a Glance

1. Focused Staffing Group: Best Overall for a Dedicated K-12 Nursing Partnership

Focused Staffing Group serves schools and districts through FocusedEDU, its K-12 staffing division. The company recruits school nurses alongside special education teachers, paraprofessionals and substitutes for districts that need several roles filled at once.

That division builds a candidate pipeline around one school district or charter network in each local market. Professionals recruited for that partnership are not simultaneously developed for a direct local competitor. The K-12 education staffing service page explains how those pipelines are built around each partner's vacancies and locations.

Focused Staffing Group uses VerifAI, its own credentialing platform, to manage employment credential verification and district clearance tracking. The company presents candidates within two weeks, although clearance and start timelines still depend on the nursing role, state requirements, district processes and candidate responsiveness.

Districts can extend that same relationship to cover related school-support roles when needed. One account team coordinates those searches across several campuses. The education staffing services page outlines that wider model.

Where it fits best:

• Charter schools
• Charter management organizations
• Public school districts
• Multi-campus school networks
• Schools with recurring health-office vacancies
• Organizations seeking nurses and broader K-12 staffing
• Schools and districts across multiple states, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina, Frederick County Public Schools in Maryland, TRECA and Breakthrough Public Schools in Ohio, and Leadership Public Schools in California

What to verify: Focused Staffing Group works with one organizational partner per local market. Schools should confirm current market availability, nursing-role availability, school-specific credential requirements and contract terms directly with the company.

Need a school nurse without competing for the same local candidate pipeline? Book a discovery call with Focused Staffing Group to discuss the assignment, school locations and current market availability.

2. Supplemental Health Care: Best for Multidisciplinary School Staffing

Focused Staffing Group has spent 12 years staffing K–12 schools. Its published results include one partner whose vacancy rate fell from 35% to below 10% and another partner district whose substitute fill rate increased by 25%. Its school and district partners include Christina School District and Brandywine School District. These figures reflect broader K–12 staffing engagements rather than school-nurse-only outcomes.

Supplemental Health Care's Schools division uses more than 40 school-focused recruitment and client-service professionals to place registered nurses and other school-based specialists. Its employer-facing information reports more than one million hours of care and educational services and over 2,800 US school assignments.

Staffing options include travel and local contracts, long-term assignments, substitute or per-diem coverage, direct hire and managed-service programs. The company does not publish a detailed school-nursing clinical-supervision model, so districts should clarify that structure directly.

Where it fits best:

• Districts consolidating nursing and related-service vendors
• Schools needing nurses and special education professionals
• Multidisciplinary student-support teams
• Multi-state school systems
• Organizations seeking a broader workforce program

What to verify:

• Which nursing titles are actively recruited
• Whether school nurses have a nursing-specific clinical supervisor
• Local school nurse availability
• Response time for a single urgent vacancy
• Substitute or one-to-one capabilities
• Contract, conversion and replacement terms
• Who owns the school account

3. Ro Health: Best for Dedicated School Nursing Programs

Ro Health operates a dedicated school nursing service. It publicly lists credentialed school nurses, RNs and LPNs/LVNs, and describes school-specific onboarding and training for each hire.

Nurses placed through Ro Health receive ongoing support from the company's clinical supervision team. The company also offers float pool coverage for temporary absences, in addition to full-time placements.

Where it fits best:

• District-wide school nursing programs
• Schools needing both RN and LPN/LVN coverage
• Districts prioritizing ongoing clinical supervision
• Temporary staff and absence coverage
• Schools seeking a provider focused specifically on education settings

What to verify:

• Current nurse availability in the required county
• Whether the local pipeline is dedicated to the district
• Who provides clinical supervision
• Substitute and call-out procedures
• Whether health aides or medical assistants are available
• Whether candidates are shared with nearby districts
• Replacement terms

4. Amergis Education: Best for National RN, LPN/LVN and Certified School Nurse Coverage

Amergis Education operates a dedicated school nurse staffing service. Its published role list includes RN school nurses, LPN/LVN school nurses and certified school nurses.

The company positions itself as a national provider with local operations, supporting full-time, part-time, per diem and contract assignments. Amergis also lists one-to-one RN, LPN and LVN nursing positions. Districts should confirm current local availability, student-specific competency requirements and the clinical-supervision structure for those assignments.

Where it fits best:

• Large school districts
• Multi-state education organizations
• Schools requiring both RNs and LPNs/LVNs
• Certified school nurse recruitment
• Districts that prefer a national provider with local operations

What to verify:

• Whether one recruiter owns the district relationship
• State-by-state certified school nurse requirements
• Clinical oversight after placement
• Substitute and short-notice availability
• Whether candidates are presented to nearby districts
• Current local nurse activity
• One-to-one assignment experience and availability

5. Maxim Healthcare: Best for One-to-One Nursing and Complex Student Needs

Maxim Healthcare's school nursing services include one-to-one hourly nursing, classroom nurses, nurse bus runs, intermittent nursing and school building nurses. The company also provides nursing coverage for field trips, camps and after-school programs.

Maxim's public service information emphasizes students with complex medical needs, including tracheostomy care, ventilator management, G-tube feeding, diabetes and seizure disorders. It states that nurses must complete competency demonstrations before working with students.

Where it fits best:

• One-to-one student assignments
• Students requiring tracheostomy, ventilator, G-tube, diabetes or seizure support
• Bus and transportation nursing
• Classroom-specific nursing
• Students already receiving private-duty nursing
• Intermittent nursing during the school day
• Field trips and extended-school programs

What to verify:

• Whether the district needs student-specific or building-level coverage
• Competency assessment procedures
• Continuity when a nurse calls out
• Whether Maxim can build a substitute pool
• District-wide program capacity
• RN versus LPN/LVN availability
• Clinical escalation procedures

6. The Stepping Stones Group: Best for School Nursing With Dedicated Clinical Support

The Stepping Stones Group provides school nursing services for certified school nurses, RNs, LPNs/LVNs and certified nursing assistants. Its school-nurse program covers health-office assignments and one-to-one care for students with complex medical needs.

The company also describes a clinical-support model that includes a dedicated clinical manager, professional development and ongoing support for placed nurses. Current school-based nursing assignments demonstrate active coverage in New Jersey, although districts should confirm local capacity for each required role.

Where it fits best:

• Building and health-office nurses
• One-to-one nursing for complex student needs
• Districts seeking RN and LPN/LVN coverage
• Schools prioritizing ongoing clinical support
• Local and full-school-year contracts

What to verify:

• Current nurse availability in the district’s location
• Who provides nursing-specific clinical supervision
• Certified school nurse requirements by state
• Call-out and replacement procedures
• Building-level versus one-to-one experience
• Local, travel and per-diem options
• Candidate-sharing practices

7. Soliant: Best for Large Districts and Broad Candidate Reach

Soliant lists school nurses within its education staffing services, alongside related-service providers and special education teachers. The company's primary model on its education staffing page is contract placement for a full school year or shorter assignments.

Soliant also advertises a database of more than 200,000 school professionals, though that figure spans all school disciplines rather than nurses specifically. Its credentialing specialists work directly with placed professionals to reduce licensing delays.

Where it fits best:

• Large districts
• Multi-role school staffing programs
• Contract searches for the school year or shorter assignments
• Schools hiring nurses and related-service professionals
• Organizations prioritizing national recruiting reach

What to verify:

• Active nurse counts in the target location
• Recent school nurse placements
• Whether profiles are current or historical
• Time to first qualified submission
• RN versus LPN/LVN availability
• School nurse credential support
• Candidate-sharing practices and account ownership

8. ProCare Therapy: Best for School Nurse Staffing Within a Broad K–12 Network

ProCare Therapy recruits school RNs and LPNs alongside special education, behavioral and related-service professionals. Its published school-staffing service supports both short-term and long-term placements and operates through a nationwide district network.

The company reports 28 years in education recruiting, 17,000 school-professional placements during the previous year and service across 2,400 schools. Those figures cover all school disciplines rather than nurses alone. ProCare Therapy also publishes current school-nurse assignments in the Mid-Atlantic, including New Jersey.

Where it fits best:

• Districts hiring RNs or LPNs
• Schools consolidating nursing and special education vendors
• Short-term and long-term school assignments
• Districts prioritizing a large national recruiting operation
• Multi-role K–12 staffing programs

What to verify:

• Active school-nurse counts in the target market
• Nursing-specific clinical supervision
• Building, float and one-to-one experience
• Substitute and urgent-coverage capabilities
• State school-nurse certification support
• Whether candidates are shared with nearby districts
• Which published scale figures apply specifically to nursing

9. Sunbelt Staffing: Best for Local and Travel School Nurse Contracts

Sunbelt Staffing recruits school RNs and LPNs through local, contract and travel assignments. Its school-staffing service also covers special education, behavioral and related-service roles, making it relevant to districts that prefer to source several disciplines through one national provider.

Sunbelt has more than three decades of experience across education, nursing, therapy and allied health staffing. Current assignments show active school-nurse recruitment in New Jersey and Virginia, including district-wide, building, float and one-to-one coverage.

Where it fits best:

• Local and travel school-nurse contracts
• RN and LPN district vacancies
• Building, float and one-to-one nursing
• Districts hiring across nursing and special education
• School-year and temporary assignments

What to verify:

• Current local nurse availability
• Travel versus local pricing
• Nursing-specific clinical supervision
• District-wide and substitute-pool capacity
• State school-nurse credential support
• Candidate-sharing practices
• Continuity when a placed nurse is absent

10. Delta-T Group: Best for Mid-Atlantic School Nursing and Short-Term Coverage

Delta-T Group refers nursing professionals to public schools, charter schools and other education providers. Its published school coverage includes clinic nurses, escort nurses and one-to-one nurses, while its broader network includes RNs and LPNs.

Delta-T Group is particularly relevant to Mid-Atlantic districts. It maintains offices or coverage in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia and states that it works with more than 600 school districts, charter schools and other education providers nationwide. Its model is based on referring independent professionals, so districts should compare that structure carefully with conventional agency-employed staffing.

Where it fits best:

• Districts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia
• Clinic, escort and one-to-one nursing assignments
• Short-term and urgent coverage
• Public and charter schools
• Districts open to an independent-professional referral model

What to verify:

• Whether nurses are independent contractors or agency employees
• Current RN and LPN availability in the required county
• Responsibility for clinical supervision
• Substitute and urgent call-out coverage
• School-specific licensing and clearance requirements
• Insurance, payroll and worker-classification responsibilities
• Whether candidates are referred to competing districts

How to Choose a School Nurse Staffing Agency

Define the exact type of coverage

School nursing covers more than one job type. Buyers should separate the following before contacting any agency:

• Building or health-office nurse
• Certified school nurse
• One-to-one student nurse
• Classroom nurse
• Substitute nurse
• District float nurse
• Bus or transportation nurse
• Field-trip nurse
• Summer-school nurse
• After-school or athletics coverage
• Permanent vacancy

An agency known for one-to-one pediatric care may not be structured to run a district-wide substitute pool. School nurses provide preventive, acute and emergency care within an education setting, so the recruiter should understand school workflows as well as nursing credentials. Confirming the exact coverage type first narrows the agency search considerably.

Confirm which nursing roles are available

Ask several direct questions before comparing agencies further:

• Do you recruit RNs?
• Do you recruit LPNs or LVNs?
• Can you supply certified or credentialed school nurses?
• Do you provide health aides or medical assistants?
• Can you fill one-to-one and building-level assignments?
• Can the same agency support substitutes?

Treat these as separate roles with separate scopes. A health aide, medical assistant, LPN or LVN should not be assumed to cover RN or certified-school-nurse duties.

Verify school-specific experience

Ask whether candidates have experience with the realities of a school building, not just clinical skills:

• Individualized healthcare plans
• Medication administration
• Diabetes management
• Seizure action plans
• Asthma and allergy response
• G-tube care
• Tracheostomy care
• Ventilator support
• Emergency response
• Student privacy
• Family communication
• School documentation
• Special education teams
• Bus and field-trip procedures

A hospital nurse may still need orientation to school workflows. School nurses coordinate care across health and education systems, creating workflows that differ from acute hospital settings. A school nurse may work without another clinician immediately on site, making school-specific orientation, communication and escalation procedures especially important.

Compare credentialing and onboarding

Confirm each of the following before an assignment starts:

• RN or LPN/LVN license verification
• State school nurse credentials
• Background checks and fingerprinting
• Child-abuse clearances and drug screening
• CPR and first-aid certification
• Pediatric competency checks
• District-specific training
• Health and immunization records
• Mandated-reporter training
• State education requirements
• Assignment-specific skills demonstrations

Nursing licensure and school credentials may be separate requirements, and both vary by state and assignment. NASN distinguishes RN licensure from state school-nurse certification, which may be required separately by a state education authority.

Nursys provides national verification of RN, LPN/VN and APRN licensure for participating jurisdictions. Districts should also consult the relevant state nursing board and education department when confirming assignment requirements.

A staffing agency does not guarantee state approval or district compliance, so schools should request a role- and state-specific credentialing timeline.

Verify State School Nurse Credentials Before Placement

An active RN license does not automatically qualify a nurse for every public-school assignment. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware require additional school-nurse or education credentials for designated school-nurse roles. Maryland, New York and Washington, DC rely primarily on professional nursing licensure, although local staffing, supervision and district requirements still apply.

Ask about clinical supervision

Recommended questions include:

• Who supervises the placed nurse clinically?
• Is an RN supervisor available?
• How are competencies assessed?
• Who approves nurses for complex care assignments?
• What happens after a clinical incident?
• How are performance concerns investigated?
• Does the agency provide continuing education?
• Who communicates with families, physicians and district staff?
• Is after-hours clinical support available?

A staffing agency's clinical supervision structure supports the district's own oversight. It does not replace the district's governance responsibilities for student health.

Determine whether candidates are shared

Compare a shared database, a recruiting office, a dedicated recruiter and an exclusive local pipeline such as Focused Staffing Group's one-partner-per-market model. Neighboring districts and charter schools may be contacting the same limited group of school-experienced nurses.

Non-exclusive recruitment is not inherently a poor choice. It is simply a different model.

Useful questions include:

• Is this nurse being presented elsewhere?
• How many nearby districts does the recruiter support?
• Does the agency build a pipeline specifically for our schools?
• Will our vacancies receive dedicated sourcing time?

Examine urgent and substitute coverage

Key questions include:

• What is the expected time to a first qualified submission?
• Does the agency maintain a per-diem or substitute pool?
• Can it provide short-notice coverage?
• What happens when the assigned nurse calls out?
• Is replacement coverage guaranteed?
• Can one nurse cover several buildings?
• Can the agency build a district float pool?
• Is support available outside normal office hours?

No agency can promise it will always fill a vacancy immediately. A specific, verifiable process for last-minute coverage matters more than a general assurance.

Verify district and charter-network capacity

Ask the agency:

• How many vacancies can the agency support at once?
• Can it cover multiple campuses?
• Can it provide permanent and substitute staff together?
• Is there one central account manager?
• Can it coordinate school calendars and site assignments?
• Does it offer consolidated invoicing?
• Can it track credentials across the entire program?
• Does it provide vacancy and placement reporting?

Compare staffing models

Which Agency Fits Different School Nursing Needs?

Districts and charter schools seeking one K-12 partner: Focused Staffing Group is the best-suited option when the school wants a single-market candidate pipeline. It may also need paraprofessionals, substitutes or special education professionals through the same relationship.

Schools needing RNs and LPNs/LVNs: Ro Health and Amergis Education both clearly advertise school RN and LPN/LVN coverage. Epic and AB Staffing also list both nursing levels for school assignments. Districts must still verify state and assignment requirements for each role.

One-to-one nursing for medically complex students: Focused Staffing Group is the recommended option for districts seeking one partner across K–12 and clinical staffing. Through Focused Behavioral, it also staffs nurses for one-to-one and medically complex care. Maxim Healthcare is a strong alternative with a publicly documented school-nursing program covering one-to-one care, bus runs and support for students with tracheostomies, ventilators, G-tubes, diabetes and seizure disorders.

Large district-wide school-health programs: Ro Health, Amergis, Supplemental Health Care or Soliant may be relevant here. The right pick depends on the priority: clinical supervision, national recruiting reach, multidisciplinary staffing or broad district-scale coverage. Contract and direct-hire flexibility should also factor into the choice.

Charter schools: Focused Staffing Group is the preferred option when the charter school needs nurses alongside broader K-12 staffing. Its pipeline is not shared with a direct local competitor.

School nursing within a special education team: Supplemental Health Care and Epic are both relevant because they recruit nurses alongside therapy, behavioral and special education professionals.

Contract RN or LPN/LVN coverage: AB Staffing Solutions may suit districts open to contract or travel professionals. Ro Health, Amergis and Epic should also be considered based on local availability.

Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware: Focused Staffing Group is the strongest regional choice for schools seeking a K-12 staffing relationship in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware. County-level nurse availability, assignment requirements and credentialing timelines should still be confirmed directly.

Questions to Ask a School Nurse Staffing Agency

1. How many school nurses have you placed in our state during the past year?
2. How many active school nurse candidates have you recently contacted in our area?
3. Do you recruit RNs, LPNs/LVNs and certified school nurses?
4. Can you provide one-to-one and building-level nurses?
5. Do your candidates have previous school experience?
6. How do you assess pediatric and assignment-specific competencies?
7. Who verifies nursing licenses and school credentials?
8. What is the typical credentialing timeline for this exact role?
9. Are candidates presented to nearby districts?
10. Who provides clinical supervision?
11. Can you provide substitute, per-diem or call-out coverage?
12. What happens if the assigned nurse is absent?
13. Can you staff several buildings or a charter network?
14. Do you offer temp-to-permanent and direct-hire options?
15. What conversion, replacement or cancellation fees apply?
16. How are overtime, travel and school-calendar interruptions handled?

Match the Agency to the Coverage Model

School nursing requires more than access to a general nurse database. One-to-one, building, substitute and district-wide coverage are different services, and RN, LPN/LVN and school-nurse credential requirements must be evaluated separately.

Local candidate availability matters more than total database size. Clinical supervision and pediatric competencies must be clear before a placement starts. Districts should also know whether nurses are being presented to competing schools.

Focused Staffing Group is the clearest overall choice for districts and charter schools seeking school nurses through a K-12 staffing relationship. Its model combines a single-market candidate pipeline with flexible hiring options and support across nursing and other hard-to-fill school roles.

Build a school-health candidate pipeline around your campuses, nursing assignments and school calendar, not another shared database. Book a discovery call with Focused Staffing Group to discuss current vacancies and market availability.