How to become a substitute teacher in Iowa.

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Looking for work that has potential to impact the next generation? Becoming a substitute teacher may be the right job for you. It’s both flexible and rewarding work—you choose your own schedule and can decide which grade levels and subjects you want to teach.

Kelly Education is the expert in helping people become substitute teachers in Iowa—and across the country. We work with thousands of schools to recruit and hire the most qualified people to lead classrooms when teachers are absent.

Let’s start by looking at the minimum substitute teacher requirements in Iowa. Remember school districts may have additional qualifications, which you can find in their posted job description.

Minimum Iowa state requirements, at a glance*:

Certification: Iowa substitute teacher authorization
Education: Associate degree or 60+ college credits
Age: 21 years old
Employment verification to work in the U.S.
Substitute Authorization Course
Mandatory Reporter trainings about child and dependent adult abuse
Background check

In addition to Iowa state requirements, Kelly Education requires the following:

Pre-hire training

A deeper dive into substitute teacher requirements.

Substitute teachers in Iowa must have either a license or authorization issued by the Iowa Board of Education Examiners (BOEE). This takes effort on the part of the applicant to go through the hiring process, so be aware of timelines and have patience when gathering your materials.

Education requirements.

Substitute authorization To obtain an authorization, you need to have an associate degree or 60+ college credits and complete a substitute authorization course. This can be taken through any Area Education Agency (AEA). This instructor-led, self-paced course can be completed online and takes 15 hours. You can teach any subject in grades preK-12, and you are limited to ten days in a row for a 30-day period in the same assignment.

Substitute license For this license, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. You must also complete a teacher prep program or be eligible for an Iowa teaching license. This is a great option for those who were previously licensed and are waiting to renew their Initial certificate. With a substitute license, you can teach any subject in grades preK-12, serving in any one position for up to 90 consecutive days.

Education verification.

Applicants need to contact their college or university to obtain official academic transcripts. It can take 3 to 5 days to receive transcripts, so plan ahead. Schools typically charge a $10 to $15 processing fee.

Background check and fingerprinting.

Iowa prioritizes student safety, so all substitute teacher applicants in the state are subject to a background check.

Additionally, if you work for Kelly Education, we run a National Sex Offender Registry and county criminal check on all applicants. This background check typically takes one to three days.

Employment verification.

All employees complete a federal I-9 form to verify their eligibility to work in the U.S. This document is easy to complete and involves submitting valid forms of identification along with the I-9. Our team will help you with this if you work at one of our partner districts.

Training.

The state of Iowa requires that all educators working in a school district complete Mandatory Reporter Training to understand child and dependent adult abuse. These are two separate courses that result in two separate certificates upon completion. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides this training online for free. The AEA also provides this training free of charge for all school district employees, public and private. Both the HHS and AEA training are acceptable.

The training takes about four hours to complete, and all substitute teachers must provide training completion certificates as part of the pre-hire process. This training is valid for three years. You can also take an updated refresher training for one hour if original training has not expired.

In addition, Kelly Education requires all our applicants — even if they have prior teaching experience — to complete our pre-hire training called ClassSmarts. It’s free, self-led, online training that can be completed in about an hour.

Finally, we also offer non-mandatory New Hire Orientation to help you better understand our policies and procedures, like how to get paid.

Become a substitute teacher with Kelly Education.

When you work with one of our partner districts across IOwa, we help you through your hiring journey and set you up for classroom success. If you are interested in working in one of our Iowa school districts, complete our interest form and a recruiter will reach out to share more information about becoming a substitute teacher.

*Information subject to change. This is a general guideline. School districts may have additional requirements, in addition to state requirements.