On January 11, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom released Executive Order N-3-22 to provide temporary administrative and staffing flexibilities to ensure schools can maintain operations with qualified staff and keep students in learning environments with strong COVID‑19 safety measures.

Effective immediately, the following changes have been authorized to local education agencies (LEAs) that make a written finding, signed by the LEA’s superintendent or designee and retained for public access upon request, that temporary staffing flexibility will support maintaining in-person instruction, despite staffing shortages caused by the surge in COVID‑19 cases:

  • Allows temporary certificates to be issued for emergency substitute teaching services pursuant to Education Code section 44332(a) without regard to whether the recipient has a pending credential or permit application or has made the statement under oath required by that section, and any contrary requirements are suspended through March 31, 2022. All applicants receiving temporary certificates pursuant to section 44332(a) must meet the remaining eligibility requirements in Education Code section 80025 and all requirements in Education Code section 44332.6
  • Extends the duration for substitute teachers who can be assigned to a single general education assignment to no more than 120 days through March 31, 2022.
  • Suspends the requirement under Education Code section 46300, and any related statute of regulation, that students be under the direct supervision of a certificated employee of a school district or county office of education for calculating average daily attendance for apportionment for each day, or portion thereof, allowing a student teacher to be assigned to a classroom without the supervision of a credentialed teacher through March 31, 2022.
  • Suspends post-retirement compensation limitations in subdivisions (d), (f) and (g) of Education Code section 24214 for compensation earned during the 2021-22 school year through March 31, 2022.
  • Suspends the 180-day break in service requirement under subdivision (g) of Government Code section 7522.56 for retired classified and certificated personnel who have attained the normal retirement age at the time the compensation was earned, and who receive compensation from the public employers identified in Education Code sections 26113(a)(1) and (3), through March 31, 2022.

This order expands the previous orders N-12-21 and N-25-20 that lowered barriers for retired teachers and classified staff to return to school settings.