Substitute Teacher Staffing in Montana
FocusedEDU is a substitute teacher staffing agency for Montana school districts. We recruit, clear, and place day-to-day, long-term, and special education substitutes, substitute paraprofessionals, and related-service providers, each fingerprinted for the national background check Montana requires before anyone has unsupervised contact with students, with every long assignment tracked against the 35-consecutive-day line.
- 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 Montana schools need from a substitute partner
Montana lets districts use substitutes without a teaching license, with conditions attached. Licensed subs get preference, a nonlicensed sub needs a high school diploma or GED and at least three hours of training, and the district must run a fingerprint-based background check before the first day. The hard line is time: a substitute may carry a teacher's position for 35 consecutive teaching days, after which the district needs a licensed teacher under contract or an emergency authorization.
The daily need is the familiar one: coverage confirmed before first bell, long-term substitutes for leaves and vacancies, and special education substitutes and substitute paraprofessionals who keep IEP services running. From Billings and Missoula to Bozeman, Great Falls, Helena, and Kalispell, Montana districts recruit from small pools across long distances, which makes every cleared, trained sub worth keeping.
How FocusedEDU staffs Montana substitute programs
We fingerprint every Montana substitute for the state and federal check before a first assignment, document each nonlicensed sub's diploma and training, and flag licensed subs so your district can give them the preference the rule requires. Our credentialing system counts consecutive teaching days per position, so your office knows well before day 35 whether to put a licensed teacher under contract or prepare an emergency authorization request. 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 subs we recruit for your district are not presented to the district next door. Every placement is temp-to-perm at no cost. For the rest of the building, see special education staffing, paraprofessional staffing, and K-12 education staffing.
Montana substitute teacher and clearance requirements
Montana does not require a substitute to hold a teaching license, but districts must give preference to licensed substitutes. A nonlicensed substitute must have a high school diploma or a passing score on the general education development (GED) assessment, complete at least three hours of training approved by the local board, and pass a fingerprint-based background check before employment. A substitute may cover an absent teacher's position for up to 35 consecutive teaching days; after that, the district places a licensed teacher under contract or declares that none is available and pursues an emergency authorization. Montana law also requires a fingerprint-based national background check before anyone, regardless of employment status with the district, has unsupervised contact with students.
Who can substitute, and for how long
The Board of Public Education's rule allows that when a licensed teacher is temporarily unable to teach, "substitute teachers may be employed to carry on the duties of that teacher's position for a period not to exceed 35 consecutive teaching days. Such substitutes need not hold a current license, but preference shall be given to those substitutes who are properly licensed." For nonlicensed subs: "Any nonlicensed substitute teacher must have received a high school diploma or have attained a passing score on the general education development assessment," and "Any nonlicensed substitute teacher shall complete a minimum of three hours of training, as approved by the local board of trustees." At the time limit, "If the absence of the regular, licensed or authorized teacher continues for more than 35 consecutive teaching days, the substitute may be placed under contract if licensed or the local board of trustees shall place a licensed teacher under contract," and "If the local board of trustees makes a written declaration to the Superintendent of Public Instruction that no licensed teacher is available, the district shall pursue the employment of a teacher authorized under the provisions of ARM 10.57.107" (source: ARM 10.55.716). The statute sets the emergency route: "A district may request from the superintendent of public instruction an emergency authorization of employment for a person who is not the holder of a valid Montana teacher or specialist certificate," and "Emergency authorization of employment of a person is valid for the school fiscal year identified on the authorization" (source: MCA 20-4-111). We count consecutive teaching days per position and flag day 35 for your office well ahead.
Fingerprint checks, regardless of employer
"A district that employs a nonlicensed substitute teacher must conduct a fingerprint-based background check of that individual," and "The district shall not employ the nonlicensed substitute teacher until state and federal authorities have reported the results of the background check or until the district has conducted a reference check of the individual" (source: ARM 10.55.716). Licensed teachers clear a similar bar at licensure: the applicant "is of good moral and professional character and has completed a fingerprint-based national criminal history background check pursuant to the educator licensure policies of the board of public education" (source: MCA 20-4-104). District trustees must also "adopt a student protection policy requiring that prior to the district allowing an individual, regardless of employment status with the district, unsupervised contact with students while in school, at a school-sponsored activity, or in transit to a school-sponsored activity:" either "the individual has completed a fingerprint-based national criminal history background check pursuant to the educator licensure policies of the board of public education; or" the individual has submitted fingerprint information to the Montana Department of Justice and "the trustees, the superintendent of the district, or another individual designated by the trustees has reviewed the results of the background check" (source: MCA 20-3-323). FocusedEDU completes the fingerprint check before a first assignment, so the results are ready for your district's review.
Where we staff in Montana
We staff substitute programs for school districts across Montana, with recruiting built around the state's largest cities and the districts between them.
That includes Billings Public Schools, Missoula County Public Schools, Great Falls Public Schools, Bozeman Public Schools, Helena Public Schools, Kalispell Public Schools, and Butte School District No. 1. Because we work with one client per region, the first district to sign in an area gets the substitute pool we build there.
Proof: a 95% day-to-day substitute fill rate at Odyssey
What matters most in a substitute partner is how often the classroom is covered. Our benchmark is an existing client, Odyssey Public Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware, where since 2021 our weekly-pay, app-based substitute model has kept day-to-day coverage at a 95% fill rate, 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 Montana
Substitutes who work with FocusedEDU in Montana 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 do not need a teaching license to substitute in Montana. A high school diploma or GED, at least three hours of board-approved training, and a fingerprint-based background check, which we arrange, are the starting points; licensed teachers get preference and can stay past 35 days under contract. 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 Montana?
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.
- Montana license verified where a sub holds one, so your district can give licensed subs the preference ARM 10.55.716 requires
- High school diploma or GED passing score confirmed for nonlicensed substitutes
- At least three hours of board-approved substitute training documented for nonlicensed substitutes
- Fingerprint-based state and federal background check completed before employment
- Consecutive teaching days per position tracked against the 35-day limit
- Emergency authorization paperwork prepared if your board declares no licensed teacher is available (MCA 20-4-111)
- Reference checks with prior schools, including a morning-of reliability history
- Classroom-management screening before the first assignment
“Focused Staffing Group has consistently matched us with exceptional talent who have made a significant impact on our student learning experience. The quality of the candidates they have sourced for us has been nothing short of exceptional.”
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.
Do you need a teaching license to substitute in Montana?
No. ARM 10.55.716 says substitutes need not hold a current license, though districts must give preference to properly licensed substitutes. A nonlicensed substitute must have a high school diploma or a passing score on the general education development assessment and complete at least three hours of board-approved training.
How long can a substitute cover one teacher's position in Montana?
Up to 35 consecutive teaching days. After that, a licensed substitute may be placed under contract, or the board must place a licensed teacher under contract or declare in writing that none is available and pursue an emergency authorization.
Do Montana substitutes need a fingerprint check?
Yes. A district employing a nonlicensed substitute must conduct a fingerprint-based background check before employment, and MCA 20-3-323 requires a student protection policy covering anyone with unsupervised student contact, regardless of employment status with the district.
What is an emergency authorization of employment in Montana?
Under MCA 20-4-111, a district may ask the Superintendent of Public Instruction to authorize employment of a person who does not hold a valid Montana teacher or specialist certificate. The authorization is valid for the school fiscal year it names.
What fill rate can a Montana district 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.
Will you also staff the district next to ours?
No. We work with one client per region, so the substitute pool we recruit in your area serves only your schools. Every placement is also temp-to-perm at no cost, with no conversion fee if you hire a sub permanently.
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