A state education administrator will ask the Missouri Board of Education on Tuesday to put a streamlined path to becoming a substitute teacher into effect sooner than planned.
Paul Katnik, assistant commissioner of educator quality at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, will request that an additional path to becoming a substitute teacher start in a few weeks rather than at the end of the year.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, and again now, substitute teachers were required to train for 60 semester hours of college credit as part of the certification process. During the pandemic, however, the state board decided to allow 20 hours of online training as an option.
Later, the 60 semester hours requirement was reinstated while the 20-hour training was reviewed. The board decided the shorter online training was good enough to make a permanent option starting Dec. 30.
But a critical statewide shortage in substitute teachers is prompting Katnik to approach the board. If it approves the request, it could take effect in a few weeks, Katnik said.
“Districts are really struggling to find subs, so if the state board of education can get this done quicker, please do it,” Katnik said.
In Columbia Public Schools, the weekly substitute fulfillment rate — the number of subs working versus the number of subs needed — has not risen above 72% since the school year began. For the school week ending Friday, the rate was 63.6%, meaning there were 403 subs needed and 256 spots filled. The fill rate represents a range of employees, not only classroom teachers.
When not enough subs are available, classes sometimes double in size as different teachers take them. Teachers give up their prep time to step in. Administrators and others fill in.
“We don’t have enough people who are signing up to be subs,” said Noelle Gilzow, president of the Columbia Missouri National Education Association. “People need to be aware that the sub shortage is critical. We need all hands on deck, so if somebody has any inclination of doing this, even temporarily, we really appreciate it.”
Two other factors affecting the number of substitutes available are wages and a slowdown in background checks at the state level.
EDUStaff, an educational staffing company based in Michigan, has hired and overseen substitute teachers for Columbia Public Schools since 2019. Territory Director Ray Massey said the company has stepped up advertising for recruiting.
“In addition to this, we are starting a premier sub program to address last-minute absences, which are paid at a higher rate,” Massey said.
He said he wasn’t surprised that Missouri is changing its training requirements, “just because the labor shortage is tough and the classrooms are feeling it.”
