Substitute Teachers

A nationwide teacher shortage is being felt across central Ohio, with substitute teachers also in short supply.

Under a measure approved by the Columbus Board of Education on Tuesday, substitutes will get $100 extra each week for six weeks to do the job. Substitutes play a major role in the district's plan to start the school year on time even if the teachers are on strike.

The state typically requires a four-year degree to be a substitute teacher, but the legislature waived that requirement during the pandemic. A proposed bill could extend that waiver, but it’s seeing some opposition from teachers and parents.

The bill would extend a law created during the pandemic, and is attached to a bill sparked by a popular idea.

Substitute teachers have been a scarce resource in Central Ohio for years, and the pandemic just worsened the understaffing. Some districts have been…