Special-education staff and parents cite substitute shortage and explore resident substitute option

Parents and department leaders discussed substitute staffing shortages in specialized programs during the meeting. Katie E., speaking for Department of Special Education leadership, told the committee, "we do have a substitute shortage within special education." She said the district is pursuing multiple responses, including a possible resident-substitute model and examining pay differentials between paraprofessional and teacher substitute pay.

Nut graf: Committee members described how classroom inclusion time and routine can be disrupted when regular teachers or instructional assistants are absent and substitutes are not available. The department said coordinators sometimes assign a paraprofessional who already knows the classroom to lead for a day and pay them accordingly, but persistent shortages and pay disparities remain a problem.

Parents described the functional impacts on students when routine inclusion time is canceled. One parent said inclusion time losses "mess with my daughter's inclusion schedule" and noted subsequent behavioral impacts after missed routines. Department staff and coordinators said approaches used include: asking a paraprofessional already assigned to the classroom to step into the teacher role (with additional pay), relying on coordinators to cover when possible, recruiting more substitutes through HR and considering a resident substitute position assigned to specialized programs.

Katie E. said district HR and budget teams are analyzing the pay difference between paraprofessional substitutes and teacher substitutes to determine whether equalizing pay or changing classification could increase pickup rates: "there is a financial difference between if you sub as a paraprofessional, ASEA, versus a teacher." She added that increasing substitute availability has been an HR focus and that monitoring shows some improvements but not yet full coverage.

Ending: Staff asked parents to report recurring local issues to coordinators so the district can track where substitutes are repeatedly needed. The committee said it will follow departmental proposals for resident substitutes and any policy or budget changes to equalize substitute pay.