In the face of teacher absences in schools due to COVID-19, who teaches in the US?

Due to the increase in teacher absences due to the pandemic from COVID-19 and the shortage of substitutes, parents may well be wondering: who is teaching the children?

The answer in U.S It could be a local police officer, a National Guardsman, a state budget analyst, a parent, or a recent high school graduate; just about anyone willing to help keep schools open during the current shortage of staff due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

States have been waiving some requirements to give schools more flexibility in hiring as exposure to the coronavirus, the disease itself and related quarantines increase the inconvenience for schools, which have also turned to librarians, tutors and support staff to help cover classes during the pandemic.

Brian McKinney, whose children are in second and 10th grades in Hays County, Texas, was a substitute teacher this week. He helped sixth graders with a social studies assignment in which they had to write an essay about the Soviet Union.

McKinney, a former teacher, decided he could help now that a cold snap has slowed down activities at a World War II-themed mini-golf course he and his wife own.

“There was no time to rest today. I was very focused with the boys”, he declared on Tuesday at the end of classes.

These measures have prevented schools from having to return to remote learning, which disrupted homes and caused many students to fall behind at the start of the pandemic. Some point out that it is better to have students in schools, where they are supervised and have access to food and services, even if the solution is not satisfactory academically.

Still, lowering the bar for hiring teachers raises concerns that schools are leaking. In some cases, where possible, virtual teaching by regular teachers would be a better alternative, said Richard Ingersoll, a teaching expert at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Learning remotely could be much preferable to having a substitute practically babysit her,” she added.

Governors have been issuing decrees to make it easier for more people to work in schools. In states like California, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, governors have adopted measures that give schools more flexibility to bring retired teachers back to short-term assignments.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Utah Governor Spencer Cox have allowed schools to tap into state bureaucracy.

Cox’s executive order allows state employees — such as budget analysts, social workers and patrol officers — to take 30-hour administrative leave to work as substitute teachers or on other school duties. The Oklahoma initiative allows state employees to volunteer their services as substitute teachers and continue to receive their state pay.

“We know that children learn best in classrooms, so we want to do what we can to help keep schools open. Our teachers and children deserve our support during this difficult phase of the pandemic,” Cox said in a statement.

In Kansas, the Board of Education began allowing districts to hire substitute teachers as young as 18 with little more than a high school diploma after removing requirements that they have at least 60 college credits, the equivalent of for at least two years, so that they receive a temporary license. The changes will last only until June 1, when the stricter requirements will be reinstated.