Kansas State Board of Education Moves to Make Modified Emergency Substitute License Permanent

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The Kansas State Board of Education (KSDE) voted to make the modified emergency substitute teaching license a permanent option. Unlike the standard substitute license, which requires a college degree and completion of a teacher preparation program, the emergency substitute license only requires 60 credit hours of higher education. The modified emergency substitute license, introduced temporarily in 2022 in response to COVID-19 staffing shortages, removed the credit hour requirement, allowing high school graduates as young as 18 to serve as substitute teachers.

After initial controversy over concerns about educator quality versus the need to keep schools open, the Board extended the license multiple times, adding requirements like online training and limits on consecutive assignment days.

In May 2023, the Board extended the program through June 2025 with updated limits of 25 consecutive days and a maximum of 75 days per semester per district.

According to KSDE data, there are currently 17,420 licensed substitute teachers in the state. Of those, 3,266 hold the standard license, while 14,154 have an emergency license, including 703 with the modified emergency license. Though the Board voted to make the modified emergency substitute license permanent, the change is not yet official as it awaits formal rulemaking procedures.

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