A Guide to Becoming a Substitute Teacher in Alabama

Whether it is a good thing or not is highly debatable, but considering the lack of qualified teachers in the United States, which is being dubbed a "crisis" in the education community, it may be the only solution to a big problem. Whatever their reasoning behind it, Alabama is one of the states in the nation where you do not have to have a college degree to work as a substitute teacher. As long as you have graduated from high school and can pass a background check and Tuberculosis test, you are pretty much guaranteed a Substitute Teacher's License.

Applicants for substitute teaching positions in Alabama must fill out the Application for Substitute Teacher's License form. Along with that, candidates are expected to show proof of high school graduation or the issuance of a GED, or, if they have one, an associate's or bachelor's degree. A negative TB test from within one year prior to the application date must be submitted. The costs include $20 for the application fee itself, as well as $49 for the costs of fingerprinting, as well as the criminal background check.

All materials (the application, TB test results, proof of high school graduation or GED, and cashier's checks or money orders payable to the Alabama State Department of Education) must be personally delivered to the applicant's nearest school or work site. At the time of delivery, the applicant should expect to be fingerprinted and have his or her driver's license or other picture ID and his or her social security card copied as well.

Once these requirements are met, tax forms are completed, and the background check comes back clean, the applicant will be given an employee number and will be eligible to substitute. The new substitute's name will be added to the substitute teacher list sent to all schools in the substitute's district the first week of each month.

If you are considering a career of substituting in Alabama, something you may want to consider in your decision is the low pay rate. While substitutes are notoriously underpaid in many states in the nation, in Alabama, substitutes can expect to make barely above federal minimum wage. A good article concerning the low pay rate of substitutes in the state can be found at the Decatur Daily website. If this pay rate is acceptable, or perhaps if you just really want to be in the classroom, then substituting in Alabama may be the right choice for you.