Mingo County Schools

  • Series 3 - Professional Staff
  • Policy 3431 - Personal Leave >>
  • Policy 3120.04 - Employment of Substitutes

    Adopted on January 17, 2017

    Effective March 1, 2017

    3120.04 - EMPLOYMENT OF SUBSTITUTES

    The Board of Education recognizes the need to procure the services of substitutes in order to continue the operation of the schools as a result of the absence of regular personnel.

    The County Superintendent, subject to approval of the Board, may employ and assign substitute teachers to any of the following duties:

    A. to fill the temporary absence of any teacher or an unexpired school term made vacant by resignation, death, suspension or dismissal;

    B. to fill a teaching position of a regular teacher on leave of absence; and

    C. to perform the instructional services of any teacher who is authorized by law to be absent from class without loss of pay, providing the absence is approved by the Board in accordance with the law.

    The substitute shall be a duly certified teacher.

    Persons whose names do not already appear on the substitute list may attain that status only by making application in response to a posted notice of vacancy for the substitute list. The posting process, and the selection of candidates from among the applicants, shall follow the procedures set forth in WV Code 18A-4-7a.

    All applications for employment shall be made using the process designated by the Superintendent.

    Any person who intentionally misstates facts material to his/her qualifications for employment or the determination of salary shall be subject to dismissal by the Board.

    Applications for employment will not be accepted from any current Board member. If a Board member wishes to apply for a position, his/her resignation must be accepted by the Board prior to submitting an application and circumstances must be such as to avoid the Board member's apparent use of his/her authority or influence as a Board member to secure the employment position. Employment, as used herein, shall not include volunteer positions for which no compensation is payable or paid.

    The Superintendent shall request an appropriate criminal background check regarding the prospective employee prior to making any recommendation to the Board.

    No candidate for employment as a substitute professional staff member shall receive recommendation for such employment without having proffered visual evidence of proper licensing or that application for such licensing is in process. Said licensing shall meet the minimum requirements of State law for the position for which s/he is being recommended.

    The Superintendent shall request an appropriate criminal background check regarding the prospective employee prior to making any recommendation to the Board.

    The spouse of the Superintendent or a Board member may not be employed by the Board in any substitute professional position of employment except as substitute classroom teacher and substitute principal. If a Board member’s spouse is being considered for such employment, the Board member must not participate in any way in the discussion or vote and must leave the Board meeting during such discussion and vote. If the Superintendent’s spouse is being considered, the Superintendent must not participate in the discussion.

    The Board will not employ as substitute professionals the unemancipated children or, except for a spouse, a dependent (IRS criteria) of the Superintendent or any member of the Board. Otherwise, the Board may employ the Superintendent’s or a member's relatives, including his/her parent or parent-in-law, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, child, son-in-law or daughter-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild. When any such relative of the Superintendent or a Board member is employed as a substitute professional employee, the related Superintendent or Board member shall not participate in any way in the discussion on the employment. The Board member shall not vote and shall leave the Board meeting during the discussion and vote. Thereafter, the Board member may not vote on a personnel matter involving such a person unless the matter affects the Board member’s relative as a member of a profession or occupation, or as a member of a class of at least five (5) persons.

    PROFESSIONAL SUBSTITUTE CLASSIFICATIONS

    The Superintendent shall, upon approval of the Board, employ and assign substitute employees to serve as needed in the following classifications:

    A. Teacher

    B. Administrator

    C. School Nurse

    Employment in each classification shall be considered separate from employment in any other classification and from employment in an extracurricular assignment, provided that no regular employee shall be employed or assigned as a substitute employee in any classification.

    Employment in a classification shall require appropriate certification, licensure, or both, applicable to that classification.

    DISMISSAL

    Substitute employees shall be expected to conduct themselves according to state and county policies and shall be held to the same standards for professional behavior as regular employees while discharging their duties. The Superintendent may, subject to Board approval, suspend or recommend termination of employment as a substitute pursuant to State and local policy.

    The Board recognizes the need for an active and accessible pool of substitute employees to maintain the efficient operation of the school system. As such, the Superintendent or designee shall from time to time review the work history of substitute employees to determine if any should be recommended for dismissal for lack of availability.

    Any professional substitute employee who is found to have not accepted and served in any assignment for a period of ninety continuous working days during a school term or terms, and having been offered at least three assignments during this time, shall be notified in writing that his/her employment as a substitute may be terminated for lack of availability if he/she continues to be unavailable for assignments. If the substitute is subsequently found to have not accepted and served in any assignment for a period of forty-five continuous days during a school term or terms, and having been offered at least three assignments during this time, then he/she shall be notified in writing that the Superintendent shall recommend that his/her employment as a substitute be terminated by the Board for lack of availability, and shall be afforded the opportunity to be heard by the Board before his/her employment as a substitute is terminated.

    For the purposes of this policy, a substitute shall be considered unavailable on a day if he/she has not otherwise been assigned by the Superintendent to serve in another position for that day or has refused to accept any assignment offered for that day without providing written documentation from a physician or court as to the good cause for which he/she is unavailable for that assignment. For the purposes of this policy, an opportunity shall be considered refused if the substitute has not accepted another assignment that conflicts with that opportunity and has either indicated refusal of that opportunity or been contacted to accept that opportunity and not responded, including not answering a phone call made to offer that opportunity.

    LONG-TERM SUBSTITUTES

    “Long-term substitute” means a substitute employee who fills a vacant position that the Superintendent expects to extend for at least thirty (30) consecutive working days, and has been recommended by the Superintendent and hired by the Board as a long-term substitute for that position. The hiring of a long-term substitute to fill a vacant position does not provide that substitute with any guarantee of continued employment in that position, except that any substitute teacher who has been assigned as a classroom teacher in the same continuously for more than one half of a grading period, and whose assignment remains in effect two weeks prior to the end of the grading period, shall remain in the assignment until the grading period has ended, unless the principal of the school certifies that the regularly employed teacher has communicated with and assisted the substitute with the preparation of lesson plans and monitoring student progress or has been approved to return to work by his or her physician. (WV Code 18A-2-3 (b)). Once a long-term substitute has been hired to fill a vacant position, the position shall be continuously posted until such time as a qualified applicant or applicants are identified.

    While employed as such, long-term substitutes shall receive all benefits, privileges, and rights as would be accorded to a regular employee in their position, except that they shall not be considered “permanently employed instructional personnel” for the purposes of WV Code 18A-4-7a (c). Long-term substitutes shall accrue 1.5 days of personal leave for every 20 days employed as a long-term substitute, provided that these days are only applicable to personal leave taken while employed as a long-term substitute. Upon employment as a regular employee, all personal leave accrued as a long-term substitute shall be forfeit. This personal leave shall be governed by the same rules and regulations as that applied to personal leave for regular employees.

    For the purposes of eligibility for PEIA benefits, a long-term substitute does not include a retired employee hired to fill the vacant position.

    DAILY SUBSTITUTES

    “Daily substitute” shall mean a substitute employee who temporarily fills a position held by a regular employee while that employee is absent using personal leave or a board-approved leave of absence or that has been made vacant by resignation, death, suspension, or dismissal of the regular employee and has not yet been filled by a regular employee or long-term substitute pursuant to this policy.

    Daily substitutes shall not receive any benefits, rights, or privileges afforded to regular employees except that which is required by law. Daily substitutes shall not be paid for days on which students are not required to attend school.

    In the selection of a daily substitute, the Superintendent shall publish administrative guidelines detailing the procedure for identifying, contacting, and securing such substitutes. The principal of a school, with approval of the Superintendent, may establish a preferred list of substitutes to serve in a particular endorsement area or assignment, provided that for all daily assignments, the offer to serve as a daily substitute shall be made in the following order:

    1. Substitutes who appear on the school’s preferred list who possess certification or licensure in the area of endorsement applicable to the assignment,

    2. Substitutes who appear on the school’s preferred list who possess certification or licensure, but not in the area of endorsement applicable to the assignment,

    3. Substitutes who appear on the school’s preferred list who possess a substitute permit in the area of endorsement applicable to the assignment,

    4. Substitutes who appear on the school’s preferred list who possess a substitute permit, but not in the area of endorsement applicable to the assignment,

    5. Substitutes who do not appear on the school’s preferred list who possess certification or licensure in the area of endorsement applicable to the assignment,

    6. Substitutes who do not appear on the school’s preferred list who possess certification or licensure, but not in the area of endorsement applicable to the assignment,

    7. Substitutes who do not appear on the school’s preferred list who possess a substitute permit in the area of endorsement applicable to the assignment,

    8. Substitutes who do not appear on the school’s preferred list who possess a substitute permit, but not in the area of endorsement applicable to the assignment,

    Daily substitute teachers may be utilized to assist with classroom responsibilities in order to provide for planning time for a regular employee; however, any substitute teacher who is employed to teach a minimum of two (2) consecutive days in the same position shall be granted a planning period.

    A daily substitute may be dismissed from an assignment at the sole discretion of the Superintendent. Any substitute employee dismissed from an assignment by the Superintendent shall be notified of his/her dismissal in writing.

    SUBSTITUTE TEACHER SENIORITY AND EXPERIENCE CREDIT

    Upon completion of 133 days of employment in any one (1) school year, substitute teachers, except retired teachers and other retired professional educators employed as substitutes, shall accrue seniority exclusively for the purpose of applying for employment as a permanent, full-time professional employee. Employment of 133 days or more as a substitute teacher shall be prorated and shall vest as a fraction of the school year worked by the permanent, full-time teacher.

    Upon completion of 133 days of employment in any one (1) school year, substitute teachers, except retired teachers and other retired educators employed as substitutes, shall accrue a year of experience for pay purposes.

    DAILY RATE FOR SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS

    The pay of a substitute teacher shall be eighty percent (80%) of the daily rate of the State basic salary paid to teachers; however, any substitute teacher who teaches in excess of ten (10) consecutive instructional days in the same position shall, thereafter, be eighty percent (80%) of the daily rate of the State advanced salary based upon teaching experience. Any substitute teacher who teaches in excess of thirty (30) days in the same position shall be paid the daily rate of the advanced salary schedule in the county.

    A substitute administrator assigned as an administrator shall be paid the daily rate provided to that assignment given the substitute’s years of experience and salary classification.

    GRIEVANCE RIGHTS FOR SUBSTITUTE EMPLOYEES

    A substitute shall have standing to file a grievance only on matters related to days worked or when there is a violation, misapplication or misinterpretation of a statute, policy, rule or written agreement relating to such substitute.

    EVALUATION OF SUBSTITUTE EMPLOYEES

    Substitute teachers shall be evaluated in accordance with State and local policies.

    WV Code 18A-2-3, 18A-4-7, 18A-4-14, 18A-4-7a, 18A-2-12, 18-29-2, 16-3D-3

    WV Code 61-10-15