Do substitute teachers get paid in the summer?
Usually not, because most subs are paid for the days they work and there are no school days to cover. North Boone schools in Illinois set a daily rate and say subs receive pay only for time worked. Unemployment between school years is limited too: a federal law, 26 U.S.C. 3304(a)(6)(A), tells states not to pay it on school wages when there is reasonable assurance of work next term.
Checked October 31, 2026 against the sources below.
Daily pay is the common shape. Jordan School District in Utah pays its daily subs a rate based on education, and DC Public Schools pays by the full or half day. A summer school program may hire subs, so ask the district whether it runs one and how it fills its absences.
Long-term and building subs can be different, because some are on a contract for the school year. Even then, the contract usually covers the school year, not the summer, so read what yours says or ask HR.
Whether you can claim unemployment in the summer is a question for your state's unemployment office, not your district. Our page on unemployment and the summer sets out the federal rule and what eleven states say. It is general information, not legal advice.
Go deeper on Peabody Teach
Sources
- North Boone Community Unit School District 200 (IL): Board policy 5:220, Substitute Teachers (opened October 31, 2026)
- 26 U.S.C. 3304, on govinfo.gov (U.S. Government Publishing Office) (opened October 31, 2026)
- Jordan School District (UT): Substitute Teacher job description, revised March 2024 (opened October 31, 2026)
- District of Columbia Public Schools: Substitute Teachers (opened October 31, 2026)
More on pay and work
This answers a common question in general. Your district, school and state may differ, and their word wins. Up: All questions · Substitute teachers
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