The Fayette

County School System is continuing to update its policy concerning substitute

teachers, after an incident last year that resulted in the arrest of a

substitute.

A revised policy

approved by the Board of Education Monday night would require all substitute

teachers to be at least 21 years of age. The previous policy required

substitutes in kindergarten through eighth grade to be at least 18, while

high school substitutes had to be 21 or older. State law requires that

substitute teachers in any grade be at least 18 years old.

A 19-year-old

substitute at Whitewater Middle School faced criminal charges during the

past school year after allegedly showing inappropriate materials on the

Internet to seventh- and eighth-grade students.

Another policy

change approved by the board this week concerned 12-month school system

employees, who will now be given 14 standard non-work days per year as

set annually by the superintendent. Those typically include such days

as Labor Day, Thanksgiving break, winter break, Memorial Day, the Martin

Luther King Jr. holiday and July 4.

As in the past,

employees can also gain non-work days each year based on each employee's

length of service, and can accrue up to 45 days which can be purchased

ends.