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IDEA recommends sending students home if no substitute teacher is available

The Iqaluit District Education Authority is recommending that schools send students home on days when teachers are absent, rather than regularly using principals and gym teachers to fill in.

The region is suffering a dire shortage of substitute teachers, with, at one time, only four names on the list. A draft policy was written during the IDEA’s meeting on Monday.

The IDEA is also opposed to teachers using their daily 20- to 30-minute preparation periods to serve as substitute teachers. That practice often results in up to seven teachers covering one class at different intervals.

The draft policy notes that parents will be notified before children are sent home. It is not a last-resort measure, but one to be used at the discretion of principals. "If it said ‘last resort,’ there’d be no principal in the office, no gym class for most of the time," said Kathy Smith, chair of the IDEA.

The IDEA will vote on the policy at its next meeting, on Feb. 11. Members will also draft a separate policy on what to do when schools exceed their budgets for casual employees. Substitute teachers are covered by the casual employee budget, and many schools are already approaching or exceeding that limit.

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