Jan 24, 2022, 4:49 PM
(From K-12 Dive) In New Mexico, National Guard members and state workers are being encouraged to volunteer to become licensed substitute teachers and child care workers. It's the latest state to float an unorthodox solution to the problem of teachers and school staff calling out sick in high numbers because of an omicron-driven spike in COVID-19 infections across the country. Several states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania, passed bills last week to expand the pool of eligible substitutes, permitting retired teachers, eligible college students and recent education program graduates to all serve as substitute teachers. And in Kansas, the State Board of Education temporarily lowered the requirements as a “last resort” in an effort to keep schools open and provide relief to teachers and other employees who have been stepping in to staff classrooms.
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