In an amazingly alarming move, the state of Missouri plans to lower standards for substitute teachers.
One superintendent of a rural district has floated the idea of bringing in National Guard units as substitute teachers. Matt Davis, superintendent of Eldon, Missouri, schools, made the suggestion to Gov. Mike Parson in a July meeting, according to a report in the Fulton Sun.
On Tuesday, the Missouri board of education made it easier to become a substitute teacher under an emergency rule, although the change was in the works before the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead of the previous requirement of 60 hours of college credit, eligible substitute teachers must now hold a high school diploma, complete a 20-hour online training course and pass a background check.
In other words, Missouri doesn’t care about the quality of teachers. Any warm body will do.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Omg. I sure hope the people of MO understand what this means for them and their welfare in the short and long run.
Outrageous.
Lowering these standards is clearly a sign of the times now compounded by the pandemic. It is a deeper issue of state funding, disdain for taxes especially in rural communities where these substitutes are needed, undervaluing the liberal arts and blinders toward equity for an educated citizenry (and aspiring citizenry)
The policy change isn’t a blanket state statement that teachers don’t matter. Standards and evaluation expectations are generally high and TFA has not planted its flag as in other states.
This is actually atypical for the State. Certification standards have traditionally been sound and districts are held accountable. Teachers are dedicated and generally supported in their local communities – and stay in the profession (compared to other states).
But instead of resolving and funding the roots of the problem, they gave in to a quick fix.
That IS typical in the state.
The real tragedy of which this is just another symptom is the State’s ignoring the real education problems: inability to attract teachers in rural schools, dwindling enrollment in education course and education degree programs, a desperate teacher shortage, salary disparities in the counties/cities, and miserable inadequate state funding.
hitting the nail on the head for YEARS of system-weakening invasions: Instead of resolving and funding the roots of the problem they gave in to a quick fix.
You know, ‘back in the day’ it was illegal to educate slaves. An educated slave was too ‘uppity’.
Believe it or not those are higher standards than Massachusetts has. For a substitute position of less than 90 consecutive days the state requires only a high school diploma and a CORI check. After that it’s up to individual districts to decide if they want to set a higher bar.
Same with Utah.
Alabama is worse. In Alabama, the state reimburses local school districts $35 a day for a substitute teacher and that teacher only needs a high school diploma and a negative TB skin test.
https://crazynormaltheclassroomexpose.com/2014/10/15/substitute-teachers-in-the-united-states-are-often-paid-poorly-and-treated-like-trash/
This is nothing compared to what’s going on in some places. I was shocked (honestly) to learn that a neighboring &, surprisingly, very wealthy school district (consisting of but one school, K-8) was asking for volunteers to apply by August 12th. (The school year is supposedly starting this Monday.) They are reopening w/2.5 hours/day, & using volunteers to monitor bathrooms, move students through halls, etc. However, if teachers are unavailable, they will be using volunteer(s) to teach classes.
Hopefully, some (or all) of these volunteers will be certified (I strongly doubt that any retired teachers will be volunteers).
In any case, I don’t expect any schools to be open for very long before they’re closed down again.
What is the point?
For short term substitute teachers [1 or 2 days due to a stomach bug, etc.], as a parent, all I really cared about was whether the teacher could keep order.
I find the concept of substitute teachers for many month teacher leave of absence Kafkaesque, but for a substitute that will be teaching the class for many months, then I care more about the qualifications.
My last few years of teaching special education, we were required to turn in lesson plans on a weekly basis. All teachers who taught a subject matter course, everyone but strictly resource teachers, had to do the same. the intention was that all those resource teachers would have easy access to what their students were doing and that substitutes would always have plans. The only problem, from my point of view, was that those lesson plans were under constant revision during the week and frequently what was accomplished in class looked little like was on that paper sitting in an administrator’s office. As a self contained classroom teacher, I relied heavily on my parapros when I was gone. My last parapro was working toward her teaching degree and could run the class better than any sub and actually teach, which she is now doing. (Yeah!) I cannot imagine how a high school graduate with little classroom experience could ever hope to be anything but a monitor at best.
Limiting educational opportunities for those who are impacted. I am disappointed in Missouri’s decision to lower the substitute teacher qualifications.