stitute teachers that are often underqualified. In all 
but one State, substitute teachers need no teaching 
certification. 
(7) In 28 States, principals may hire anyone 
with a high school diploma or a general equivalency 
diploma (GED) who is age 18 years or older. 
(8) Nearly 12 percent of districts do not require 
substitute teachers to fill out a job application. 
(9) Over half (56 percent) of school districts 
never have a face-to-face interview with potential 
substitutes. 
(10) In 30 percent of all school districts, no 
background checks are conducted on applicants for 
substitute teaching positions, and only half the dis-
tricts check applicants’ references. 
(11) Poorly trained substitute teachers have a 
negative impact on student academic performance. 
(12) States with lower academic achievement 
are twice as likely to allow less qualified substitutes 
in the classroom. Nine out of the ten lowest-ranked 
States in National Assessment of Educational 
Progress (NAEP) testing allowed substitute teachers 
with only a high school diploma to teach in their 
schools. In each of those States, education spending 
is thousands of dollars below the national average.
(13) Of the top 25 States in education spend-
ing, 9 require at least a college degree for substitute 
teachers. 
(14) In 77 percent of school districts across the 
country, substitute teachers are given no training at 
all. 
(15) Alleviating the substitute teacher crisis 
would free up precious time for other teachers to 
spend in professional development programs. 
SEC. 3. DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Sec-
retary of Education shall establish a competitive dem-
onstration grant program to provide grants for a single 
academic year directly to not fewer than 50 nor more than 
100 local educational agencies (as that term is defined in 
section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965), or to regional consortia of such agencies 
acting 
together, 
that 
vary 
geographically 
and 
socioeconomically, to enable such agencies or consortia to 
experiment with ways to alleviate the substitute teacher 
shortage described in section 2. 
SEC. 4. SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS. 
In selecting grant recipients under section 3, the Sec-
retary of Education shall select applicants that, collec-
tively, will explore a range of options for addressing the 
substitute teacher shortage, such as—
(1) developing a public relations campaign tar-
geted at likely substitute teacher candidates (such as 
retired teachers); 
(2) establishing permanent substitute teacher 
pools; 
(3) addressing issues that hinder the ability of 
administrators to find qualified substitute teachers; 
or 
(4) increasing the availability of content and 
skills training for substitute teachers. 
SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than 1 year after the date the last grant 
made under section 3 expires, the Secretary of Education 
shall submit a report to the Congress describing the find-
ings and results of the demonstration program under this 
Act, including—
(1) the programs or methods that best allevi-
ated the substitute teacher shortage, and where 
those programs or methods worked best; and 
(2) the impact of economic conditions on the 
quality and availability of substitute teachers.
SEC. 6. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY. 
The Secretary of Education may prescribe rules to 
carry out this Act. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.
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