Substitutes often do not meet those standards, but the law does not include sanctions to keep unqualified substitutes from serving for long periods. It merely requires that, after four weeks, parents be notified that their children are being taught by a teacher without the “highly qualified” label. Some schools rotate substitutes through a classroom in less than four weeks to avoid having to send those letters, said Sandi Jacobs, vice president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, a research and advocacy group.
Lawmakers trying to update the federal law have not addressed that loophole, although they have put a provision in draft legislation that would increase training for substitutes and for administrators who manage them.
Children’s advocates say kids are being hurt.
“We need to pay a lot more attention to the prevalence of substitute teachers, along with long-term vacancies and turnover rates, especially in schools with a lot of low-income students who can least afford instability in their classrooms,” said Ross Wiener, who oversees policy issues at Education Trust, a nonprofit that advocates for poor and minority children.
On the Net:
Education Department Schools and Staffing Survey:
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/
--Associated Press
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