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Friday, August 22, 2008

TB or Not TB, Is That the Question?...

“Your personnel records indicate that you will be prevented from taking any assignments on or after Sept/4.”

That’s message I get when I try the school district SubFinder system. To fix it, I simply pay a fee to renew my substitute teaching permit, submit a copy to the district and everything is right with the world until next summer.

School is back in session starting Monday. Several weeks ago, I renewed my “Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permit” and submitted a copy to the school district office as required.

I called the SubFinder system this week only to still hear:
“Your personnel records indicate that you will be prevented from taking any assignments on or after Sept/4.”

Ok, so the office hasn’t noted my renewal yet but school DOES resume on Monday. I don’t want to be “prevented from taking any assignments”. It’s surely a simple clerical error to be corrected as soon as I point out the problem.

A second visit to the office verified that they do have a copy of my renewed permit but it seems that I need to have an updated TB test to bring my personnel records up to date.

It WOULD have been helpful had the automated system tell me what PART of my “personnel records” was preventing me from class assignments. It WOULD have been helpful if the district office, while noting my renewed permit, could have mentioned the expired TB test.

Ok, so now I’ve paid for and passed my TB test and am now in “good standing” with the district. But what would have happened had the test and the subsequent x-ray came back “positive”?

I understand the initial requirement for a TB test starting the job. They don’t want contagious people exposed to kids but I didn’t know that I needed to be tested for TB every four years to continue.

I know of no other industry, except health care for obvious reasons, that requires periodic TB testing. The only reason to periodically test employees is there must be a risk of contracting TB from the classroom clientele.

I’m starting to wonder if this job really worth the risk of contracting TB for such minimal compensation and no employer provided insurance.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean. I signed up to substitute this year and am a little amazed at how hard it is to get in the system. Also, the money isn't great but the expectations are high.:)

Law and Order Teacher said...

TB tests, permits, transcripts, FBI checks, all to sub for crap money. Schools cry for subs and then try to make it as hard as possible. Nonsensical.