pittsburgh school bus driver shortage 2017

PITTSBURGH SCHOOL BUS DRIVER SHORTAGE 2017 DRIVERS

Rich Askey, the president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the state’s largest teacher's union, told the USA TODAY Network that the law was a “really good, strong first step” that hopefully will ease the pressure on schools struggling to cover COVID-19 teacher absences. Individuals who are 25 or older, have at least 60 college credits or three years of experience as a paraprofessional, and complete training on classroom management, are allowed to serve as classroom monitors by delivering pre-planned assignments for a teacher.Teachers with inactive certificates may substitute for 180 days instead of 90 days per school year.Teachers with active Pennsylvania certificates and those with comparable out-of-state certificates can serve as day-to-day substitutes for 20 days, or longer under certain circumstances.Schools can use eligible college students and recent college graduates from education programs to work as substitute teachers.Retired teachers are eligible to fill teacher vacancies on an emergency or short-term basis.Wolf said in a December statement that the law “allows schools the short-term flexibility to ensure children can safely learn in-person where we know is best for them and their futures.”Īmong the changes under the law for the 2021-23 school years: The bill was introduced in February 2021 by state Rep. Tom Wolf signed into law House Bill 412, which backers said would help alleviate the substitute teacher shortage. More: Central Pa.'s labor market is still ailing from the pandemic's 'Great Disruption' New law might help School workers have been increasingly vocal about their frustrations on social media and in union negotiations.” “But district leaders across the country have told Education Week that this year’s problems far outweigh those of previous years. “Staffing shortages are hardly a new phenomenon for schools, particularly in rural areas,” wrote EdWeek’s Mark Lieberman.

PITTSBURGH SCHOOL BUS DRIVER SHORTAGE 2017 DRIVERS

The EdWeek Research Center survey found that more than 75% of school district leaders and principals said they were dealing with “at least moderate staffing shortages,” reported Education Week magazine.ĮdWeek reported that 25% of respondents said the shortages were “severe,” while 15% said “very severe” and 37% said shortages were “moderate.” Officials reported shortages of substitute teachers, as well as bus drivers and instructional aides.Ī little more than 75% of survey respondents said they were having issues finding substitutes to fill-in for teachers. Shortages have hit schools across the country hard, a survey released last fall showed. Here are the totals for emergency permits in Pennsylvania since then: A state Department of Education spokeswoman said the 2020-21 numbers were still being processed and were unavailable.Īccording to the state Department of Education, the number of emergency permits has ballooned since it totaled 8,812 in 2013-14. So far in the 2021-22 school year, there have been 13,277 emergency permits issued. Pennsylvania school districts are responsible for obtaining their own substitutes. Smith said that day-to-day substitutes do not need to be certified as an educator because districts can hire candidates with bachelor’s degrees under emergency permits. “This includes people looking to become certified to teach, actively working towards certification, certified but unable to find full-time employment, and retired or semi-retired individuals who are interested in acting as substitutes.” There is a limited pool of individuals who meet the criteria and want to be substitute teachers,” said Smith. “The challenges now are the same as they have always been. “This shortage is not new, and is no different than any other shortage we are seeing around the nation, either in the workforce or supply chain,” Smith said. Casey Smith, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, said the department does not track substitute teacher shortages, but has heard “anecdotally from schools” that it is difficult for them to find substitutes.

Pittsburgh school bus driver shortage 2017