Is there a state minimum for substitute teacher pay? Oregon, Delaware and Hawaii set one in law

In some states, yes. Oregon's law sets a minimum daily rate for substitute teachers. For 2026-27 it is $236.26 a day in a district with a five-day week. It rises to at least $277.96 from the 11th day of a long assignment in a district with no salary schedule. Delaware's law sets a day rate by class, from $113 to $179. Hawaii's law sets minimums by class too, and its Department of Education pays $170.75 to $200.80 a day as of July 1, 2026. West Virginia and North Carolina tie their floors to teacher pay instead. Where your state has no rule like these, the district or the staffing agency that employs you sets the rate. The last section shows how to check.

Each rule has gaps, so read who it covers before you compare it to your pay stub. Oregon's does not apply to charter schools or to substitutes represented by a union in their district. Delaware's says nothing about half days or long assignments. We read every page cited here on November 2, 2026. This is not legal or payroll advice. Your district's HR or payroll office applies these rules, and your state education agency can tell you whether one covers you.

Oregon: $236.26 a day for 2026-27

ORS 342.610 says a substitute may not be paid less per day than "85 percent of 1/190th of the statewide average salary of a beginning teacher who holds a bachelor's degree." The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) works out the dollar figure each year. Its memo for 2026-27, dated May 15, 2026, puts that average salary at $52,812, based on 2025-26 data. It also says there were no changes in law to the calculation from the year before. 85 percent of $52,812, divided by 190, is $236.26. The full 1/190th is $277.96.

The memo's rates for districts with a five-day week:

• An assignment of 10 days or less: $236.26 a day.
• More than 10 days, in a district without a salary schedule: $277.96 a day, which is $41.70 more.
• More than 10 days, in a district with a salary schedule: 1/190th of the district's own salary for a beginning teacher with a bachelor's degree, or $236.26, whichever is higher.

For districts with a four-day week, the law multiplies the daily minimum by 1.125 and moves the long-assignment line to 8 days. The memo's figures are $265.80 a day for an assignment of 8 days or less, and $312.70 after that in a district without a salary schedule. A district with a schedule pays 1.125 times 1/190th of its beginning teacher salary, or $265.80, whichever is higher.

The figures rose with teacher pay. ODE's 2024-25 memo set the same two five-day rates at $211.92 and $249.32.

Half days in Oregon

The law lets the district set a substitute's working hours, then sets two floors. A sub employed for "one-half day or less than one-half day" gets at least half the daily minimum. A sub employed for "more than one-half day" gets at least the full daily minimum. At the 2026-27 five-day rate, half is $118.13.

So an exact half day pays as a half day. That was different for most of one school year. ODE's 2024-25 memo says that from July 1, 2023, through April 3, 2024, "substitute teachers working exactly one-half day were statutorily required to have received a full day's pay," under SB 283 from the 2023 session. SB 1552 reversed that change, effective April 4, 2024. If you read somewhere that an exact half day earns a full day in Oregon, that was the 2023-24 rule.

The statute does not say how many hours make a half day. That follows from the hours your district sets, so ask HR how many hours it counts as a full day and as a half day. A job canceled after you accept it is a different question, covered in our post on jobs canceled the morning of.

Long assignments in Oregon

The higher rate applies after the 10th day of an assignment that runs more than 10 consecutive days for the same teacher, or more than 8 in a four-day-week district. Some days are left out when the consecutive days are counted: used sick leave, "whether paid or unpaid," weekends, school holidays, days schools are closed by weather or other conditions, and days substitutes are not required to appear in person at the school. When you sub for a part-time teacher, the part of the day you work counts as a full day.

Two more rules sit in the same section. When a district determines a substitute will be in one assignment for the same teacher for 60 or more consecutive days, it has to classify the job as a temporary position. It does that at the start, or no later than 10 consecutive days after it learns the assignment will run that long. A district also has to pay a substitute for any training it requires before the sub can apply or be assigned. Our posts on long-term assignments and on how many days a substitute can stay in one classroom cover the rest of a long stretch in one room.

Who Oregon's rule leaves out

• Charter schools. ODE's memo says they are not subject to the minimum.
• Substitutes with a union. The section "does not apply to substitute teachers represented in a bargaining unit in the school district by which they are employed." If the subs in your district have a union, ask the union or HR for the pay schedule in its contract.
• Agency subs, possibly. The statute speaks of school districts and the substitutes they employ. If a staffing agency employs you, ask the agency in writing whether it pays at least the state rate.

Delaware: $113 to $179 a day, by class

Delaware Code Title 14, § 1326 sets one day rate for each of three classes. The latest schedule took effect January 1, 2025:

• Class A, $179 a day: a sub who "holds or is eligible to hold a valid Delaware educator license," holds a valid license from another state, or holds such a license that has expired.
• Class B, $143 a day: a sub with a bachelor's degree, or a student at an accredited college or university who has earned at least 60 credits in a program that leads to a Delaware teaching license.
• Class C, $113 a day: a sub who meets neither of those.

The law raised the rates each January from 2022 to 2025. Class A was $124 a day in 2022. The code as published on November 2, 2026, has no schedule after January 1, 2025.

A Department of Education regulation, 14 DE Admin. Code 733, says state substitute funds pay "in the amounts authorized for the various classes" in § 1326. It adds: "School districts paying more for teacher substitutes than prescribed in 14 Del.C. §1326 shall do so from local or federal funds." So a district can pay more than the state schedule. Your district's HR office can tell you whether yours does.

Section 1326 sets a flat day rate. It says nothing about half days or long-term assignments, and we found no state rule on either in what we read. Ask the district how it pays both.

Hawaii: minimums in the statute, current rates from the department

Hawaii's law, HRS § 302A-624, has set minimums for a full work day since 2006: not less than $125 for Class I (no bachelor's degree), $136 for Class II (a bachelor's degree) and $147 for Class III (department of education teachers, or licensed or highly qualified teachers). A sub who works "less than a full seven-hour work day" is paid on "a pro-rated, hourly basis." The law also has the board give substitutes wage adjustments comparable to the across-the-board adjustments negotiated for teachers.

The rates paid now are above the statute's figures. The Hawaii State Department of Education lists daily rates effective July 1, 2026, of $170.75 for Class I, $185.79 for Class II and $200.80 for Class III. Its page lists no hourly rates.

States that tie the floor to teacher pay

Some states set a percentage instead of a dollar amount. West Virginia's law says a substitute's pay "shall not be less than eighty percent" of the daily rate of the state basic salary paid to teachers. The floor rises after more than ten consecutive instructional days in the same position, and again past thirty days. North Carolina's state salary schedules for 2026-27 set a certified substitute at 65 percent of the A-00 teacher rate and a non-certified one at 50 percent. They also note that a substitute paid with state funds must get the required $15 an hour. Our post on what substitutes make an hour, by state covers both states, with federal wage figures for 18 states.

How to find your state's rule

• Search your state's code. Your legislature's website has it. Search for "substitute teacher" with "salary," "compensation" or "pay."
• Check the state education agency's school finance pages. Oregon's figures come in an annual memo from ODE, and North Carolina's in salary schedules from its Department of Public Instruction. If you can't find anything, the agency's finance office can tell you whether a state rule exists.
• Check whether the rule covers you. Look for exceptions for charter schools, union contracts and agency employers, as Oregon's has.
• Ask HR for your district's substitute pay schedule in writing. Ask for the full-day and half-day rates, when a long-term rate starts, and how the days are counted.
• Compare it with your pay stub. If the rate or the day count doesn't match, ask payroll which rule it applied.

What this doesn't tell you

• Your district's rate. These are state floors or state rates. A district can pay more, and Delaware's regulation says so outright.
• Whether a rule covers you. A union contract, a charter school or a staffing agency can change the answer. HR or the agency is the place to ask.
• Any state we didn't name. We read the rules for five states. The steps above are how to check yours.
• Delaware after 2025. The schedule we read stops at January 1, 2025. A new law could change it.
• Hourly rates in Hawaii. The statute prorates a short day by the hour, but the department's page lists daily rates only.
• What to do if you were paid less. That depends on the state and the employer. Your district's payroll or HR office is the first place to ask.
• Limits for retired teachers. Those are separate rules. See our CalSTRS post and our post on Oklahoma and Illinois.

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