Camarillo and Moorpark schools struggling to fill special education positions could gain access to a wider pool of substitute teachers under a new California law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Assembly Bill 2490, first reported by EdSource on Tuesday, Sept. 29, expands eligibility for the Emergency Career Substitute Teaching Permit and extends the maximum time a substitute on that permit can serve in a single classroom from 60 days to 70.
The law targets a staffing crunch felt across the state and in local districts.
What the law changes
Previously, applicants for the Emergency Career Substitute Teaching Permit needed 90 days of substitute experience in each of the three years before applying. AB 2490 drops that requirement for college graduates who can demonstrate basic teaching skills.
The permit covers both general education and special education classrooms.
Districts must still try to fill vacancies with fully credentialed teachers first. When a student is assigned to a teacher who entered through the new alternative pathway, the district must notify parents within 10 school days.
Schools are also required to give these substitutes an orientation, at least five hours of professional development and an assigned mentor.
Local staffing gaps
Moorpark Unified School District, which serves about 5,605 students across 10 schools, flagged special education staffing shortages as a primary driver of rising costs in its 2024-25 second interim financial report. The district reported relying on contracted services to cover gaps for special education teachers and paraprofessionals.
Pleasant Valley School District, which serves 5,800 pre-K through eighth-grade students across 11 schools in Camarillo, was recruiting a special education program specialist for the 2026-27 school year as of March, according to a district post.
Statewide picture
The shortage stretches well beyond Ventura County. Close to 8,000 emergency-style permits were granted statewide in 2024-25, according to the Learning Policy Institute. More than half of new Education Specialist teachers that year entered on an emergency-style permit.
Teachers on those permits left at nearly triple the rate of fully credentialed teachers in 2023-24, the institute found: a turnover rate of about 40%, compared with 13%.
"More teachers are entering the profession, but too many are leaving," Mary Vixie Sandy, executive director of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, said at a legislative hearing in May, as reported by CalMatters.
Supporters and critics
The California School Boards Association (CSBA), a co-sponsor of the bill, backed the law. Its president, Debra H. Schade, said AB 2490 gives districts a structured option to provide students with greater continuity when permanent teachers are unavailable.
John Affeldt, managing attorney at Public Advocates, said the law weakens federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) rules requiring special education teachers to hold full state certification. He said the law "puts districts on a collision course with federal law, and puts students' legally guaranteed services on the line."
Parents whose children are assigned a substitute through the new alternative pathway should expect written notification from their district within 10 school days of the assignment.
