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Senate adopts bill to encourage retired teachers to return as subs

Teacher Andrew Lindsay leads a discussion on freedom in his eighth-grade American history class.
Teacher Andrew Lindsay leads a discussion on freedom in his eighth-grade American history class.

The state Senate has voted for a bill to encourage recently retired teachers to return to work as temps.

The aim is to help fill a shortage of school workers.

The bill would allow retired school personnel to return to work as substitutes after four months. The current requirement is to wait at least a year. Republican state Senator Dale Zorn is the sponsor.

“You know we have a huge problem in Michigan with the lack of substitute teachers.”

Zorn says the shortage of people to work in schools has gotten worse with the wave of retirements during COVID-19 – and this will deal with just part of the problem.

“There’s no fix out there that’s going to be 100 percent.”

The bill was adopted with wide bipartisan support and now goes to the state House.

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network.