Photo by Luke Montague

School districts need substitute teachers on a daily basis to fill in for absent teachers. Assignments for substitutes range from a single day to longer term. If your long-term career goal is to become a teacher, beginning as a substitute teacher is a good way to gain experience in the field and try out the classroom experience.

The job of substitute teacher provides plenty of variety; you will work with many different students in a wide range of capacities. On any given day you may be covering a full day of lesson plans left by the full-time teacher or monitoring a class that is completing previously assigned work. If you take over for a teacher who is away on medical leave, you could find yourself in the role of full-time teacher for several weeks. No matter what your experience is as a substitute, you’ll learn firsthand what it means to be a teacher.

Like the requirements for full-time teaching, the requirements for substitute teaching vary by state. In general, substitute teachers must have at least a bachelor’s degree in any subject area. Most states also require substitute teachers to successfully complete a competency exam and to undergo a background check. Some states make exceptions to these general requirements or have additional requirements, such as substitute teacher training.

We’ve included specific information about becoming a substitute teacher for a few states below. To learn more about requirements for other states, visit the state’s department of education website.

How to Become a Substitute Teacher in California
The state government of California issues an Emergency Substitute Permit that authorizes non-certified individuals to serve as substitute teachers on a day-to-day basis in preschools or K-12 classrooms for one year. The holder of the permit can substitute for 30 days or less for any one teacher during the school year. The permit is renewable on an annual basis.

The educational requirements for the Emergency Substitute Permit are completion of a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university. The Basic Skills Requirement must be satisfied by passing the CBEST, CSET or CSU exam. Application form 41-4 must be completed, as well as a request for a Live Scan background check. Application fees must be paid at the time of application.

There are separate Emergency Substitute Permits for career teachers and for prospective teachers who are still enrolled in a college or university degree program. For complete information about substitute teaching in California, visit the California Teacher Credentialing website.

How to Become a Substitute Teacher in Florida
In Florida, each local school district establishes its own requirements for substitute teachers. There are more than 70 districts in the state and the requirements vary from district to district. In accordance with state law, candidates who have no prior teaching experience must complete a training program that covers instructional strategies and classroom management. The best way to determine your eligibility is to contact school districts that you’re interested in directly. Contacts for each district can be found on the Teach in Florida website.

How to Become a Substitute Teacher in Texas
Like Florida, Texas school districts determine the requirements for substitute teachers. Typically, a bachelor’s degree, background check and medical examination must be completed. Contact information for each school district in Texas is available on the Texas Education Agency’s School District Locator website.

How to Become a Substitute Teacher in Georgia
According to the Georgia Professional Standards website, Georgia has no specific certification requirements for substitute teachers. Candidates must contact the personnel office for a Georgia school district directly to find out about substitute teaching. Priority is give to individuals with the highest qualifications.

How to Become a Substitute Teacher in New Jersey
Most school districts in New Jersey maintain lists of teachers who are qualified to serve as substitute teachers. The requirements and procedures for becoming a substitute teacher are determined by a school district’s county office of education. A list of phone numbers for county offices of education is available on the New Jersey Department of Education website.

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Photo by Bob Cotter

If you are interested in becoming a teacher and are wondering how long the process takes, the answer depends largely on where you want to teach and where you are in your life. Each state has its own requirements for teaching certification, but some common steps are required across the country.

Earn a bachelor’s degree
On the traditional route to teacher certification, all states require teachers to earn either a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS) degree from an accredited college or university. Most states require elementary school teachers to major or minor in education; a few states require elementary school teachers to earn a master’s degree. Middle school and high school teachers can major and minor in the subjects they want to teach. A bachelor’s degree can usually be completed in four years.

Complete a teacher education program
Most states require teaching candidates to complete a teacher preparation program in addition to an undergraduate degree. In some states, the teacher education program can be part of a bachelor’s degree. Other states require separate graduate level coursework. Earning a Master’s in Education or a Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) can satisfy this requirement while increasing your chances of being hired and advancing in your teaching career. (See Masters in Teaching vs. Masters in Education to learn more about the differences between these two graduate degrees.) A teacher education program or master’s degree generally requires 12 to 24 months to complete.

Become a student teacher
Working in a classroom as a student teacher is the culmination of the teacher education process. Every state requires teaching candidates to work alongside an experienced teacher. Student teachers observe, create lesson plans, assign work, and interact with parents and school administrators. They may eventually take over for the classroom under the experienced teacher’s supervision. Student teaching allows teaching candidates to put their knowledge to use while learning practical classroom management techniques. The duration of the student teaching assignment is usually one semester and is included in the teacher education program.

Gain certification
After completing all of a state’s educational requirements and working as a student teacher, a teaching candidate must pass a teacher examination. This could be either a state test or the standard Praxis exam; the type of examination required will depend on the subject and grade level that the teacher has chosen. Upon successful test completion, the next step in becoming a teacher is to obtain a teaching license or teacher certification (different states use one or the other term). Teaching certification is usually valid for a specified period of time; a teacher must complete additional coursework or training in order to renew certification. Some states require teachers to eventually earn a master’s degree to remain certified.

Are you a candidate for alternative certification?
If you already have a bachelor’s degree you may be able to obtain teaching certification without first completing a teacher preparation program. According to the National Center for Alternative Certification, alternative teacher certification is available in 48 states and the District of Columbia (Alaska and Oregon are the exceptions). The requirements for this type of certification vary by state, but most alternative certification programs allow teaching candidates to begin working in the classroom while completing teaching coursework. Find out more in this article about the pros and cons of alternative teacher certification.
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Before you begin your journey to become a teacher, it’s important to decide what age group and subject you plan to teach, and to learn more about teacher certification requirements in your state. You can visit Certification Map’s state-by-state overview for more details about how to become a teacher in your state.

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Photo by Nugroho Khoironi

Emergency teacher certification developed as an early attempt to address critical teacher shortages. It is a process whereby states grant temporary teaching certificates to individuals who do not meet the ordinary certification criteria. Emergency teaching certificates can only be granted in cases where no certified teacher can be found to fill a given position. During this temporary certification period, a teacher may work toward permanent certification through the traditional channels. The rise of alternative teacher certification has made emergency certification largely obsolete, but it still exists in some states.

Critical Teacher Shortages

Despite the popularity and obvious rewards of teaching as a profession, certain areas in the United States continue to be plagued by critical teacher shortages. Rural and inner city schools suffer from teacher shortages. Teacher shortages also exist in certain subject areas, such as math, science and some foreign languages. Emergency teacher certification and alternative teacher certification were both created in efforts to remedy this problem. However, the problem persists, in part because teachers often work at high-need schools only until earning long-term certification, at which point they frequently opt for easier or higher paying teaching jobs.

Emergency Teacher Certification

When a school district cannot fill a teaching position with a certified teacher, that district may issue an emergency certificate, either to an uncertified individual or to a teacher only certified in another subject-area. This allows the individual to begin teaching immediately, while working toward long-term certification. Emergency certification requirements vary from state to state, but most states require a bachelor’s degree. In some states, beginning the traditional certification process is also a requirement for emergency certification. This certification usually lasts for one year, and may not be renewable unless the teacher is working toward traditional certification and/or the teacher shortage continues.

Teachers granted emergency certification may be required to complete some training before teaching, and may receive some degree of mentoring and support from their school district. However, emergency certification has been heavily criticized for allowing under-qualified individuals to teach without adequate preparation. This problem probably arises because of the severity of the need for teachers. Another reason this problem might occur is that some individuals who hold emergency certification are actually experienced, certified teachers in another subject area, while others have no teaching experience at all. Alternative teacher certification programs were created to offer more appropriate training and support to qualified individuals who wish to teach in high-need areas.

Traditional Teacher Certification

Teacher certification requirements vary greatly from state to state, and many states have multiple levels of licensure and/or distinct types of certification for specific subject areas. However, most states do share some requirements such as a college degree (in education and/or the subject area to be taught), completion of a teacher-training program, successful completion of a teaching exam and, in some cases, a Master’s of Education. It is possible to earn traditional teacher certification while teaching with an emergency certificate. 

Alternative Teacher Certification

While it is entirely possible to earn a teaching certificate through traditional channels while working with an emergency certificate, alternative certification programs are specifically designed to address the difficulties of this process. Alternative certification programs vary from program to program and from state to state, but most programs provide intensive training, mentoring from more experienced teachers and accelerated coursework. While completing the alternative certification process, teachers generally hold a salaried position in a particularly high-need school. In order to complete the certification process, all teachers must pass a teaching test of some kind.

States Issuing Emergency Teacher Certification

• Texas
• Missouri
• Kentucky
• Wisconsin
• Mississippi
• And More

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