HB 583 will have proponent testimony before the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee next Tuesday, March 8 at 4:00 p.m. in Room 114 of the Statehouse. In-person testimony is crucial to get the bill passed out of committee. If you cannot testify in person, please submit written testimony. A testimony template is included below. Testimony must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. on Monday.
House Bill (HB) 583 (Bird, Jones) would extend substitute flexibility through June of 2025. The current substitute flexibility from Senate Bill 1 applies only to the current 2021-2022 school year. Click here for the full legislative text of HB 583 and here for a summary of the bill.
The bill is permissive, allowing local school boards to determine the educational requirements of substitute teachers who are teaching five or fewer consecutive days in a classroom.
For substitutes teaching in a classroom for six or more consecutive days, an applicant must be at least 21 years old, and:
- Hold an associate degree;
- Received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces;
- Earned at least 60 credit hours of coursework toward a bachelor’s degree; or
- Have at least five years of experience as an educational assistant.
The bill also allows student teachers to sub up to five days during the student teaching experience and count those hours toward student teaching requirements.
Proponent testimony on HB 583 will be heard before the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee next Tuesday, March 8 at 4:00 p.m. Testimony from districts who are benefitting from the current substitute flexibility is crucial to advance this bill out of committee.
Please note:
- A template for testimony is included here.
- Preferred: Your in-person testimony is important so that committee members can ask questions.
- If you are not able to come to the Statehouse, please consider submitting written testimony.
- Your testimony and witness slip (found here) would have to be submitted to Primary&SecondaryEducationCommittee@ohiohouse.gov next Monday, March 7, no later than 24 hours prior to committee.
We are glad to answer any questions you have about testifying to ensure it is a successful experience.
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