RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — The Washoe County School District is now turning to emergency substitute teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a staffing shortage.
Under an emergency regulation signed by Gov. Steve Sisolak last week, school districts across the state including Washoe and Clark County can change their requirements for hiring substitute teachers.
This means substitute teachers only need a high school diploma or something equivalent to get a job.
Normally under Nevada law, school districts with less than 9,000 students could hire emergency substitutes for a 20-day period.
"We always hire substitutes that already have their teaching license," says Emily Ellison, Chief Human Resource Officer with WCSD. "Since the emergency directive is in place, we can now speed up the hiring process to fill that void when teachers are absent or need the extra help."
The school district says they've been short staffed due to a number of teachers taking sick leave, requested time off or other health district exclusions.
Ellison says their hiring process hasn't changed. People looking to get hired will still need go through fingerprinting and a background check in order to be employed by WCSD.
Distract staff say the number of days a substitute can work is waived under the emergency order.
To read the full statement from the Department of Education, click here.
For any suggestions, questions, or concerns, feel free to reach out to our reporter, Miles Buergin.