DES MOINES, Iowa — Gov. Kim Reynolds' final public health disaster proclamation ends Tuesday just before midnight. With that, the ability for paraeducators in Iowa to be a substitute in any classroom also ends.
They will once again only be allowed to sub in the classrooms where they are paraeducators. That's left many of them wondering what will happen next.
The Department of Education examiners met Tuesday to discuss next steps for those para-educators.
Brian O'Keefe is a retired firefighter and veteran of the United States Army. He decided to take on subbing on the side during the disaster proclamation as a way to stay rooted in the community.
"I knew the importance of that, but I just knew there's a need out there. And I was interested in, you know, sharing, and helping these kids with their futures," he said
Before any concrete decisions are made over the qualifications of subs, O'Keefe hopes the board considers the impact paraeducators have made during the time where we needed them most.
"I hope that they reached out to the teachers and the principals and the administrators and see the impact that, you know, people like myself that don't have a full educational background teaching degree," he said. "And appreciate that, you know, we were focused on the kids there ... we shared from a different perspective, but ultimately, you know, we're there, you know, to help the kids succeed."
Executive Director of the Board of Educational Examiners Mike Cavin notes changes have been made to help get more subs through the door.
"We've already made the modifications to the substitute authority, subsidy authorization authority. So certainly that did open up the doors for many more individuals who want to pursue that avenue," Cavin said.
He notes for paraeducators who were granted substitute status for any classroom, it is still unclear what they can expect.
"Paraeducator and some other things that we might look at, we just don't know exactly what's going to happen in the future with that. So that's going to take some data, it's going to take some discussions with leaders, as well as local school districts, and as to what actually options are going to be out there."
For now, Cavin refers to the Board of Educational Examiners, who has adopted emergency rules until more things clear up.
"At this time, our board has adopted emergency rules to allow the district's individual districts to request and extend or the ability for those substitutes or those pair educators to substitute in a broader area," he said.
Local 5 spoke to members of the chair of the Iowa House Education Committee, say moving these concerns to a legislative level is an option, but right now it is too early to tell what that road would entail.
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Watch: Iowa COVID-19 update (Feb. 14, 2022)