Substitute Teacher Staffing in Indiana
FocusedEDU is a substitute teacher staffing agency for Indiana school corporations, charter schools, and nonpublic schools. We recruit, clear, and place day-to-day, long-term, and special education substitutes, substitute paraprofessionals, and related-service providers, each holding the Indiana Department of Education Substitute Permit and cleared through an expanded criminal history check and the Indiana child protection index.
- 95%
- Day-to-day substitute fill rate at Odyssey Public Charter School
- +40%
- Improvement over the school's previous staffing provider
- 120+
- Roles filled at that one partner school since 2021
- $0
- Fee to hire a long-term sub as your permanent teacher
Roles we help fill
- Day-to-day substitute teachers
- Long-term substitute teachers
- Special education teachers
- Paraprofessionals and 1:1 aides
- School nurses
- Speech-language pathologists
- Occupational and physical therapists
- School psychologists
What Indiana schools need from a substitute partner
Indiana sets a firm floor for substitutes and lets each school corporation build on it. No one may substitute without a credential from the Department of Education, and for most subs that is the Substitute Permit: a high school diploma, age 18, and an application filed after a school or substitute agency has hired the candidate. Above that floor, each corporation sets its own screening and qualifications, which means a substitute who is cleared in Carmel may still be missing something in Fort Wayne.
The operational needs are the ones every district has: day-to-day coverage confirmed before first bell, long-term substitutes for leaves and vacancies, building subs, and special education substitutes and substitute paraprofessionals who keep IEP services running. Around Indianapolis, the Hamilton County suburbs, and Northwest Indiana, corporations and charters compete for the same permitted, cleared people every morning.
How FocusedEDU staffs Indiana substitute programs
IDOE's own instructions name substitute agencies as an employer that can start the permit process, so we hire, sponsor, and file for every Indiana substitute ourselves, then verify each one against your corporation's posted standard. Our credentialing system tracks the three-year permit, the expanded criminal history check, and the child protection index check, and it records where each permit is valid. Automated credentialing cuts typical time-to-hire roughly in half.
Our substitutes are paid weekly, every Friday, by direct deposit or Cash App, and they pick up and swap shifts in a mobile app, so your absence reaches the whole vetted pool at once. We work with one client per region, so the pool we recruit around your schools is never presented to the corporation next door. Every placement is temp-to-perm at no cost. For the rest of the building, see special education staffing, paraprofessional staffing, and related services staffing.
Indiana substitute teacher and clearance requirements
Every Indiana substitute needs a credential from the Indiana Department of Education. For most substitutes that is the Substitute Permit, which requires a high school diploma or equivalency and age 18, is valid for three years, and is applied for in LVIS after a school or substitute agency has hired the candidate. Schools must run an expanded criminal history check and an Indiana child protection index check, and their policies must cover employees of contractors who are likely to have direct, ongoing contact with children.
The Substitute Permit
Indiana Code is direct: "An individual may not serve as a substitute teacher without a license issued by the department" (source: IC 20-28-5-2). IDOE's permit page sets the minimum: "Individuals applying for Substitute Permits must: Hold a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate; Be 18 years of age or older;" and adds that "Each school employer will determine its own screening, employment qualifications (if greater than the minimum standards noted below), and performance standards for its substitute teachers." On term and scope, "Substitute Permits are valid for three years," "The Substitute Permit is valid only for the requesting school employer unless the school employer has a reciprocity agreement for use of substitute teachers with another school employer," and "A Substitute Permit is not renewable. Once it expires, an applicant must apply for a new original Substitute Permit" (source: IDOE, Substitute Permits). The application instructions settle the order of operations: "You must be hired by a school district or substitute agency BEFORE you complete this application" (source: IDOE, Substitute Permit application instructions). That is the step FocusedEDU takes on for every Indiana candidate.
Expanded criminal history and child protection index checks
Each school corporation, charter school, and nonpublic school must adopt a criminal history policy that covers its own applicants and individuals who "are employed by an entity that seeks to enter into a contract to provide services to the school corporation, charter school, or nonpublic school," when they are likely to have direct, ongoing contact with children. The school must "conduct an expanded criminal history check concerning each applicant for employment who is likely to have direct, ongoing contact with children within the scope of the individual's employment," and "may require the individual to provide a set of fingerprints and pay any fees required for the expanded criminal history check." The statute adds: "An Indiana expanded child protection index check must be completed before or not later than sixty (60) days after the start date of the applicant's employment" (source: IC 20-26-5-10). Contractors carry a continuing duty as well: if a contractor learns that an employee working at a school has been convicted of a listed offense, "the entity shall immediately notify the school corporation, charter school, or state accredited nonpublic school of the employee's conviction" (source: IC 20-26-5-11.2). FocusedEDU completes both checks before a substitute is presented and keeps that notification duty in our own process.
Long assignments and emergency permits
Indiana sets no consecutive-day cap on the Substitute Permit itself, but it does set a pay line for licensed teachers working as substitutes: a professional or provisional license holder who "serves as a substitute teacher in the same teaching position for more than fifteen (15) consecutive school days" must be paid on the corporation's regular teacher pay range (source: IC 20-28-9-7). We track days per position so that line never surprises your business office. For hard-to-staff teaching positions, "An Emergency Permit is issued at the request of a school district in a content area for which the district is experiencing difficulty staffing the assignment with a properly licensed educator," and "The applicant must possess the minimum of a Bachelor's Degree from a regionally accredited university in order to be eligible for the EP" (source: IDOE, Emergency Permits).
Where we staff in Indiana
We staff substitute programs for school corporations, charter schools, and nonpublic schools across Indiana, with recruiting centered on Indianapolis and the state's other large metros.
That includes Indianapolis Public Schools and the township corporations around it, including MSD of Wayne Township and Perry Township; the Hamilton County suburbs, including Hamilton Southeastern and Carmel Clay; Fort Wayne Community Schools; the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation; South Bend; and Northwest Indiana, including Gary and Hammond. Because we work with one client per region, the first corporation or charter network to sign in a metro gets the substitute pool we build there.
Proof: a 95% day-to-day substitute fill rate at Odyssey
The number to compare substitute partners on is day-to-day fill rate. Ours comes from an existing client, Odyssey Public Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware, where our weekly-pay, app-based substitute model has run a 95% day-to-day fill rate since 2021, a 40%+ improvement over the school's previous provider.
Odyssey Public Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware serves more than 1,000 K-8 students drawn from five districts and protects a 12:1 student-teacher ratio. When the agencies already under contract could not fill its open roles, Odyssey brought in FocusedEDU in 2021. Since then we have made 120+ placements across 13+ distinct role types — substitute and certified teachers, SLPs, OTs, PTs, psychologists, reading specialists, one-on-one aides, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, and support staff — and day-to-day substitute coverage runs at a 95% fill rate, a 40%+ improvement over the previous provider.
The mechanics behind that number are the same ones we bring to every substitute program: weekly Friday pay by direct deposit or Cash App, a mobile app where vetted subs pick up and swap shifts the moment an absence posts, and a pool recruited for one client's buildings instead of rented to every school in the county. Read the full Odyssey Public Charter School case study.
For substitutes looking for work in Indiana
Substitutes who work with FocusedEDU in Indiana are paid weekly, every Friday, by direct deposit or Cash App, and choose their own shifts in a mobile app. One application puts you in front of the partner schools we staff, and our team walks you through every clearance and credential step.
You will need an IDOE Substitute Permit (a high school diploma or equivalency and age 18 are the state minimum), and we hire you first so you can apply in LVIS, as IDOE requires. We also complete the expanded criminal history and child protection index checks with you before your first assignment. Browse current openings and apply on our candidates page. Long-term substitutes who prove out in a building can be hired permanently by the school with no conversion fee, which is why a FocusedEDU leave coverage is often the best teaching interview a substitute ever gets.
Need substitute teachers in Indiana?
Start with a free 30-minute discovery call or send your openings by email. Either way we map your absence volume, buildings, and requirements first, then build a substitute pool that serves your schools alone — one client per region, temp-to-perm at no cost.
Book a discovery call or send a staffing request. Prefer to compare first? Read our breakdown of the best substitute teacher staffing agencies for 2026, or go back to substitute teacher staffing for K-12 schools.
Documentation we coordinate for an approved start
The applicable checklist depends on the role, state, and your organization’s requirements.
- IDOE Substitute Permit (or teaching license) verified in LVIS, with its three-year expiration tracked
- High school diploma or equivalency and age 18 confirmed, plus your corporation's own higher standard where it has one
- Permit scope checked: valid for the requesting employer unless a reciprocity agreement applies
- Expanded criminal history check under IC 20-26-5-10, with fingerprints where required
- Indiana expanded child protection index check completed within the statutory window
- Consecutive days per position tracked for licensed subs, who move to the teacher pay range after 15 (IC 20-28-9-7)
- Reference checks with prior schools, including a morning-of reliability history
- Classroom-management screening before the first assignment
“I recommend Focused Staffing Group without reservation. They have demonstrated a consistent level of professionalism, reliability, and responsiveness in addressing our staffing needs.”
How an engagement works
Free 30-minute discovery call
We map your absence patterns, buildings, bell schedules, and substitute requirements — day-to-day volume, standing long-term leaves, and what your current fill rate actually is. No cost, no obligation.
We source, screen, and credential
We build a substitute pool against your buildings specifically. Every sub is interviewed by us, cleared, reference-checked with prior schools, and screened for classroom management before their first assignment.
You choose from a vetted shortlist
For long-term and building-sub roles, your principals interview fully credentialed candidates and make the call. For daily coverage, only subs who have passed the full screen can see your shifts in the app.
We stay through the placement
We monitor fill rates, rotate out subs your buildings flag, and stay involved for the life of the engagement. Hire any long-term sub permanently at no conversion fee.
Common questions.
What does it take to substitute teach in Indiana?
A credential from the Indiana Department of Education, since state law bars anyone from substituting without one. For most substitutes that is the Substitute Permit, which requires a high school diploma or equivalency and age 18; each school employer may set higher qualifications of its own.
Can a staffing agency sponsor an Indiana Substitute Permit?
Yes. IDOE's application instructions say applicants must be hired by a school district or substitute agency before completing the permit application in LVIS. FocusedEDU hires each candidate first, then files the application.
How long is an Indiana Substitute Permit valid, and where?
Three years from the date the application fee is paid in LVIS. It is valid only for the requesting school employer unless that employer has a reciprocity agreement with another, and it is not renewable: when it expires, the substitute applies for a new original permit.
Do agency substitutes need their own background check in Indiana?
Yes. IC 20-26-5-10 requires each school's criminal history policy to cover employees of entities that contract to provide services, when they are likely to have direct, ongoing contact with children, and requires an expanded criminal history check and an Indiana expanded child protection index check.
What fill rate can a Indiana school corporation expect?
Fill rates depend on your absence volume and region, so we report yours on a regular cadence rather than quoting one number. Our reference point is an existing client: at Odyssey Public Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware, our model sustains a 95% day-to-day substitute fill rate, a 40%+ improvement over the previous provider.
What does it cost to hire one of your long-term subs permanently?
Nothing extra. Every placement is temp-to-perm at no cost: if a long-term sub earns a permanent contract in your building, there is no conversion fee and no buyout.
Need staffing support for hard-to-fill roles?
Contact Focused Staffing Group to discuss your current and upcoming needs — or plan ahead and build a stronger candidate pipeline before openings become emergencies.
Responsive · Compliance-minded · Focused on hard-to-fill roles