skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump suffers first defeat but as always doubles down for the next fight; From Ohio to Azerbaijan: How COP29 could shape local farming; Funding boosts 'green' projects in Meadville, PA; VA apprenticeships bridge skills gaps, offer career stability.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump has a new pick for Attorney General, his incoming "border czar" warns local Democratic officials not to impede mass deportation, and the House passes legislation that could target any nonprofit group accused of supporting terrorism.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The CDC has a new plan to improve the health of rural Americans, updated data could better prepare folks for flash floods like those that devastated Appalachia, and Native American Tribes could play a key role in the nation's energy future.

PA Bill Expands Eligibility for Substitute Teachers Amid Shortage

play audio
Play

Tuesday, December 21, 2021   

Pennsylvania's substitute-teacher shortage has put a lot of pressure on educators in the state, but a new law signed by Gov. Tom Wolf last week aims to expand the pool of eligible substitutes.

Under House Bill 412, retired teachers now can fill vacancies on an emergency or short-term basis. Public schools also can use some college students and recent graduates of an education program as substitutes.

Rich Askey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said the shortage has a ripple effect on students' ability to learn. Nearly two years into the pandemic, he emphasized it is critical to ensure they stay on track.

"This law is going to help achieve that by reducing the number of overcrowded classrooms," Askey explained. "The educators are now telling me they don't have time in the middle of their day to take a bathroom break. They're teaching two classes at once. It's a very stressful situation out there in our public schools."

The substitute-teacher eligibility allowed in the bill will be a pilot program for the remainder of this school year and the next. The bill also will allow teachers whose certifications have lapsed to substitute for 180 days, up from a 90-day cut-off.

Kerry Mulvihill, a seventh grade science teacher in the Conestoga Valley School District in Lancaster County, has been an educator for more than two decades. She said the last two years have been the most difficult, and with teachers out more frequently, other staff members are expected to cover their class during prep periods, the only time during the day without students.

Mulvihill is thankful to the Legislature for passing the bill, but worries it's not enough.

"So I'm kind of hopeful that we can get more retirees with the bill and more pre-service teachers," Mulvihill remarked. "But I wish we could do more to really promote the importance of education to our community and the importance of supporting our substitutes as well as our in-house teachers."

Mulvihill added she would also like to see an increased wage for teachers in Pennsylvania. The average starting salary for Pennsylvania educators during the 2019-2020 school year was $41,000 a year.

Disclosure: Pennsylvania State Education Association contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy and Priorities, Early Childhood Education, Education, and Livable Wages/Working Families. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The smoking rate among adults in Maryland is 9.6%, much lower than the national average of 12.9%. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new report on lung cancer by the American Lung Association showed Maryland has quite a bit of room to improve diagnoses and treatment but experts sa…


Social Issues

play sound

La Niña is bringing a cooler, wetter winter to Oregon and likely driving up heating bills as systems work harder. This is the third year of …

Environment

play sound

The number of pedestrians and bicyclists killed on roadways in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the past 12 years and a New Mexico researcher wants to …


Social Issues

play sound

CLARIFICATION: We updated language to clarify the timing for when the study's authors began tracking certain outcome measures for children within the …

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Kyla Russell for WISH-TV.Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the WISH-TV-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service C…

Social Issues

play sound

A recent study from Florida Atlantic University highlights a concerning rise in alcohol-related deaths across the United States, with mortality rates …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021