The employment of substitutes for non-administrative, site-based certified staff and teachers, including counselors, media specialists, and other certified staff who have teaching or instructional responsibilities will be governed by the following provisions:

Classroom Teachers:

Substitute List: All substitute teachers are to be listed on the substitute teacher list issued by the Personnel Department. To be listed as a substitute on the official Substitute List, the substitute must have met the established qualifications and completed all the required paperwork (application, copy of transcript, three references, I-9, health form, TB test and tax forms). Persons classified as certificated substitutes must hold a current or expired North Carolina or out-of-state teaching certificate. Persons who do not hold a teaching certificate but possess a minimum of at least two years of college and/or work experience or a combination of both will be classified and paid as non-certificated substitutes.

When Substitutes are to be Employed: The Principal shall be responsible to employ an approved, qualified substitute. Any certified staff member who has as a duty the delivery of instructional services to students requires a substitute if the direct instructional duties performed by that certified staff member will go unmet for the period of the absence. As a rule, substitutes are not authorized to be employed on work days. However, two days will be granted automatically at the beginning of the school year if the substitute will be working three or more weeks into the school year, or one day at the end of each grading period if the substitute has worked at least three weeks. Additional days may be granted for the beginning of the school year upon written application to and with the approval of the Associate Superintendent responsible for personnel. It will be the duty of the principal to make the request for additional work days to the Associate Superintendent responsible for personnel at least one week in advance and indicate the reason that the substitute will be required as well as the type of leave the regular teacher will use during the absence. The Associate Superintendent or designee will then advise in writing both the principal and payroll office as to whether the employment of the substitute is authorized. No employment of a substitute for additional workdays is authorized outside of this procedure.

Special Requirements for Certain Substitutes: In order to preserve the quality of the educational program in Guilford County during an absence by a teacher, every effort should be made to hire substitutes who are proficient in the subjects for which they are hired. Any substitute in an area of specialization (braille readers, speech teachers, one-on-one service providers, resource teachers or other instructors of subjects requiring special instructional course of study, such as foreign languages, etc.) should possess the skills necessary to provide a meaningful educational experience.

Selection of Substitutes from Substitute List: Principals are to select substitutes who meet the requirements of this procedure from the approved Substitute List. If a school employs anyone as a substitute who is not on the official Substitute List, the school and principal will be in violation of proper personnel and business procedures. Since the person will have been improperly employed, the school or principal will be responsible for covering the cost of the salary and fringes either from personal funds or from the general fund of the school; however, as in all employment, the payment to the person will be made through the district payroll office.

Employment of Teacher Assistants as Substitutes: The Guilford County Board of Education authorizes the use of an employed teacher assistant as a substitute teacher in the classroom in which the assistant is regularly assigned when in the judgement of the principal the students would be better served by use of the assistant as a substitute. For any day that an assistant serves as a substitute, a supplement established by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction shall be paid. The supplement will be paid only during the time the employee would be receiving pay as a teacher assistant. For example, an assistant regularly employed only for a half day would receive one half of the daily supplement when working a full day as a substitute. Pay for the remaining one half day would be as a substitute.

Special Provisions for School Counselors and Media Specialists:

Because annual leave is permissible for school counselors and media specialists, generally substitutes will not be provided. In order to employ a substitute for a school counselor or media specialist, the principal must make the request in writing to the Associate Superintendent responsible for personnel. The request should state the extraordinary reason the substitute is needed, the type of duties that will be performed, special site-based conditions, and the anticipated length of time the substitute will be needed. Generally, such requests will be considered only for long-time absences. If the request is approved, the substitute should be one who is on the Guilford County Schools Substitute List, and due to state regulations, must be paid at the regular substitute rate generally from local funds.