Missouri substitute teacher reimbursement extended

Lockers line a hallway at Jefferson City High School in this May 6, 2019, photo.
Lockers line a hallway at Jefferson City High School in this May 6, 2019, photo.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson's office recently approved an extension for state coronavirus relief funds to reimburse substitute teachers.

This reimbursement for substitute teachers was first announced in October. In September, the Missouri State Board of Education approved an alternative route for people to obtain a certificate to serve as a substitute teacher to help address the shortage of substitute teachers throughout the state.

The alternative route allows people who have a high school diploma or equivalent to complete a 20-hour online training to be eligible for a substitute certificate. There is a $175 online training fee and a $50 application fee for the certificate.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will use coronavirus relief funding to reimburse anybody who has paid the application fee between Nov. 5, 2020, and March 31, 2021. DESE will begin processing those reimbursements April 1, and it will take at least several weeks to process, according to the department.

DESE will also use relief funds to reimburse anybody who has paid the online training fee from Nov. 5, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021. The online training program, Frontline, will begin processing those reimbursements after Feb. 28, according to DESE.

To qualify for the alternative route to substitute teacher certification, the online training must be complete by Feb. 28 because the emergency rule that allows this alternative route, approved by the State Board of Education to address pandemic-related staffing shortages, expires after that date.

The payment method used to pay these fees will be automatically credited. There is no action required by the substitute teachers to be reimbursed.

Substitute teacher candidates must also pay $41.75 for a fingerprint background check for each school district they intend to work in. They might pay this fee multiple times if they work in multiple school districts.

Coronavirus relief funding is also available to school districts that choose to reimburse substitute teachers working in their schools for the background check fee. The substitute teachers must have completed their fingerprint background check between Nov. 5, 2020, and March 31, 2021. The district must submit an application and list of individuals to be reimbursed to DESE by March 31 to access to funds, according to DESE.

More information about these reimbursements and recent updates to substitute certification rules can be found on DESE's substitute teacher webpage at dese.mo.gov/educator-quality/certification/substitute-teachers.