From the School Pulse Panel: "The School Pulse Panel (SPP) is a monthly data collection of vital information in public education. SPP began as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and served as a primary source of information regarding public schools' response to the pandemic. Beginning in the 2023–24 school year, SPP is expanding to collect data on a range of topics that have relevance for federal policymakers, stakeholders within the U.S. Department of Education, public school leaders across the country, and the general public.

The survey asks about topics such as after-school and summer programs, learning recovery, tutoring, staffing, and mental health services. Data collected from SPP are used to produce estimates that are representative of all U.S. public schools. Estimates from SPP can further be examined at the school level (elementary, middle/combined, and high schools), school size, region, locale (urbanicity), racial/ethnic student enrollment, and school neighborhood poverty level.

A sample of 4,000 public elementary, middle, high, and combined-grade schools were selected to participate in the panel, where school leaders will be asked to provide requested data monthly during the 2023–24 school year. Most topics will rotate in and out from month to month, while others will be asked multiple times throughout the school year to detect change."