COLUMBUS, Ohio — Granville Exempted Village Schools posted on Facebook saying they're in “great need of substitute teachers.”
“100% of the districts have seen the decline in the amount of available substitutes, so, yes, I think it's state-wide and I think it's a big issue,” said Van Keating, Senior Staff Attorney, Ohio School Boards Association.
Keating said this problem has been going on since the beginning of the pandemic. As an example, Columbus City Schools says prior to the pandemic they aimed to have 740 subs, but currently they have 584 active substitute teachers.
“I think part of it is there's been a lot of retirements since the pandemic hit and so therefore just the number of qualified certified teachers that are out there and the number is gone down tremendously,” said Keating.
So what is being done? The state is attempting to help.
The Ohio Department of Education is lessening requirements and offering a 1-year temporary non-Bachelor's substitute teaching license. The Ohio School Boards Association says districts are also offering pay increases as well as sharing substitutes among districts.
If you're looking for more information about the new licensing requirements for teachers, go here.
