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Those who don’t have degrees receive reprieves
Friday May 9, 2003 Maui News

By CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS
Staff Writer
WAILUKU —— To prevent staffing shortages in rural and remote areas, public school educators reversed themselves and announced this week that they will allow substitute teachers without college degrees to return to work next school year.

Principals also wanted to extend an appreciative hand to the affected substitutes who have long been filling in for regular teachers on sabbaticals and sick leave, according to state Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen.

Kathleen MacIsaac, a 10-year substitute working at Haiku Elementary School on Thursday, filled out renewal papers and planned to submit her application immediately.

“I was very happy,” she said.

In March, DOE served notice to MacIsaac and other substitutes without bachelor’’s degrees that the department would not renew their applications for school year 2003-04.

Knudsen explained at the time that the decision stemmed from the No Child Left Behind Act, an education reform plan signed into law by President Bush.

The act, among other things, requires states to set certain criteria for students and educators in public schools and to submit progress reports measuring whether schools have fulfilled such standards.

In the case of teacher qualifications, the No Child Left Behind Act mandates that teachers be certified and hold degrees in the specialties to which they are assigned. Schools have until the year 2005 to achieve the standard.

Knudsen said the federal act does not specify requirements for substitutes, but because these employees work directly with students and instruct like a regular teacher, the state DOE believes it must require substitutes to have bachelor’s degrees.
People on both sides of the issue acknowledged that the stringent new requirements would put dozens of substitutes out of work and leave schools scrambling to find qualified people. It would be especially difficult for schools in remote areas like Hana, Molokai and Lanai.

MacIsaac said she has been able to work almost full time over the last 10 years. She has filled in for teachers on leave and those who sought to attend workshops and other professional-development events. As a substitute, MacIsaac has assumed a range of responsibilities from devising lesson plans to holding parent-teacher conferences. “I’ve done it all,” she said.
Patricia Smith, a substitute working at Makawao Elementary School on Thursday, holds both a bachelor’’s degree and a teaching credential. She’s been opposed to DOE’s earlier decision against substitutes without degrees, saying her colleagues should have been given more time to earn the college credits.

“It just makes more sense. These substitutes provide a valuable service,” Smith said.

Still, the reversal by the Department of Education will apply only to teachers without degrees who already are in the public school system. Non-degree substitutes who have taught at least one day during the current school year will be eligible to renew their applications for the 2003-2004 school year. They must also meet the following conditions:
   Have satisfactory evaluations.
   Be named on a school’s preferred substitute list.
   Complete a new 30-hour substitute teacher course during school year 2003-2004.
   Work toward a bachelor’s degree to be completed by June 2006.
Schools that employ substitutes without degrees for more than four weeks must notify parents of
the students that these substitutes are not qualified teachers.

David Garner, an 11-year substitute currently on medical leave, said he appreciates the DOE’s new stance but wonders whether he’ll be able to obtain a bachelor’’s degree within the required time.

Garner said substitutes on Maui are limited in their choices of baccalaureate programs. If they wanted to seek education degrees, for example, the only option they would have is to attend classes with the University of Phoenix Maui campus, which charges as much as three times more than University of Hawaii.

The UH Outreach Program on Maui has about 18 candidates expected to complete education degree requirements in December. But UH has not announced any future programs.

The University Center on Maui, which coordinates baccalaureate degree programs from its other campuses, has an open entrance policy, which means registration is ongoing.

Students who have at least one year of college credit can call the UH Center for an assessment at 984-3525. Individuals with no college experience can call the Education Opportunity Center at Maui Community College at 984-3286.
Those with college credit may qualify to take upper-division courses through the Internet, via cable TV courses and in MCC classrooms evenings.

Those without any college credit could choose to enroll at MCC for core courses and
prerequisites to the upper-division classes.

In the meantime, Kauai substitute teacher John Hoff said his group, the Substitute Teachers Professional Alliance, will continue to advocate for legislation to allow substitutes to organize.

Gov. Linda Lingle recently vetoed a proposal that would allow the state to recognize a union for substitute teachers, saying it was a poorly worded bill. Hoff said he looks forward to submitting new legislation next year.

Hoff said he supports the formal creation of qualifications for substitutes in the DOE, but he also believes that current employees with extensive experience in the classroom should be allowed to work in the schools.

James “Jimmy” Kuroiwa Jr. of the Laborers’ International Union of America, Local 368, tried unsuccessfully to get lawmakers to override Lingle’s veto. Local 368 announced its intentions earlier this semester to represent substitutes in the union.

Kuroiwa said Thursday that union representatives have been discussing the veto and are contemplating a legal challenge.
 

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