Substitute Teacher Compensation & Benefits

OSPI collects data from each school district on substitute teachers’ hiring and compensation status. This collection is required under RCW 28A.300.615 and applies to all substitute teachers, regardless of how often or how long they work.

The data help OSPI better understand how districts hire and pay substitutes to meet both short-term and long-term staffing needs. The information may also support analysis of resource allocation, hiring practices, and strategies to improve recruitment, development, and retention of substitute teachers.

Districts report the following information about individual substitute teachers who were hired by the district during the previous school year:

• The number of substitute teachers hired.
• The number of hours worked by each substitute teacher.
• The number of substitute teachers who received benefits under the school employees’ benefits board.
• The full daily compensation rate of each substitute teacher.
• The reason for hiring each substitute teacher.

The focus population under RCW 28A.300.615 is classroom teachers who are assigned to a substitute role and hold a substitute teaching certificate. The scope includes substitute teachers who were actively working. It does not include substitutes who are in a substitute pool but were not called to work.

District staff assigned to non-teaching roles and/or who hold non-teaching certificates are not included.

This dashboard summarizes data from the collection, with median hours and compensation statewide, per LEA, and per Locale, selectable using filters. The summary data file is available for download on the OSPI Data Portal.