Hiring Policy
Substitute License(s): Arkansas does not issue substitute licenses, but it does maintain minimal requirements regarding the length of assignment.
Length of Assignment: Arkansas does not permit a substitute teacher to be assigned to the same class for more than 30 consecutive days unless the teacher holds a bachelor's degree or a current Arkansas teaching license.
Substitutes with a high school diploma or GED can teach up to 30 consecutive days in the same classroom.
Evaluation of Long-Term Substitutes: Arkansas has no requirements for the evaluation of any of its substitute teachers. It is unclear from state policy whether substitutes with a current teaching license would be subject to evaluation under Arkansas's current teacher evaluation requirements.
Require substitute teachers to have a substitute license.
Arkansas should require all substitute teachers to obtain a substitute teaching license. Licenses issued by the state allow for uniform minimum requirements so that all districts have access to a similarly qualified substitute teaching pool.
Distinguish requirements for short-term and long-term substitutes.
Arkansas should distinguish requirements for short-term and long-term substitutes so that it can ensure that its requirements are appropriate for the needs of these teachers. The state's long-term substitute requirements should be rigorous (e.g., that
all long-term substitutes have current or expired licenses) to help
ensure that teachers who are spending extended periods of time with
students are prepared to do so.
Limit the number of consecutive days a short-term substitute can teach in the same classroom.
Arkansas should limit the number of consecutive days a short-term substitute can teach in the same classroom without completing additional requirements or obtaining a long-term substitute license. The maximum number of days should be no more than 10 percent of the length of the school year. Arkansas' policy of allowing substitute teachers to teach 30 consecutive days in the same classroom may be detrimental to instructional quality and daily productivity.
Require long-term substitute teachers to be evaluated.
Arkansas should maintain standards for substitute teacher quality and accountability for all substitutes, but especially for long-term substitutes who are expected to stand in for licensed teachers for extended periods of time. Arkansas can help ensure that substitute teachers are held to high standards and have access to the supports necessary to improve their practice by requiring evaluations — which it may find appropriate to modify from its standard, state-required teacher evaluations — of long-term substitutes.
Arkansas had no comment on this goal.
Research finds that teacher absences negatively affect student achievement and growth.[1] While some of this is attributable to the disruption of regular classroom practices and instruction,[2] it may also be attributable to substitute teacher quality. The gap in instructional quality and daily productivity when a regular teacher is replaced by a substitute teacher is significant.[3] However, absences covered by substitutes licensed by the state are not as detrimental to student achievement as those covered by non-licensed substitutes.[4] Some research hypothesizes that the low-skill level and mobility of substitute teachers may contribute to the reduction in instructional focus and quality and that even when substitute teachers are good instructors, they may be unable to effectively implement a teacher of record's long-term instructional strategies.[5] Parents, teachers, principals, and students have concerns about substitute teachers' quality and qualifications.[6] States should maintain rigorous standards for substitute teacher quality and accountability for all substitutes, but especially for long-term substitutes who are expected to stand in for teachers for long stretches of time.