Why Substitute Teachers Matter and How Policy and Working Conditions Shape Their Decisions

Educator staffing shortages have drawn considerable attention from policymakers and the public in recent years. While much attention is directed towards K-12 teachers, there is growing concern about shortages of substitute teachers because of the negative impact on teachers and administrators when schools regularly have insufficient staff to cover teacher absences and vacancies (Diliberti & Schwartz, 2023; Zuo et al., 2023).

• Education Policy Speaker Series