Lawmakers wanting to plug the gaping hole as teachers abandon Arizona's public schools have a plan to speed up certification.

State Rep. Heather Carter of Phoenix said her bill would close a state loophole that ignores the hours a substitute teacher spends in the classroom.

"Many people begin their career as a substitute teacher," she said. But when it comes to applying for certification, "You cannot use those hours, even though you are the teacher of record."

It makes little sense, Carter said, "when you are the sole person in front of those kids each and every day, (and) you can't use those hours towards your practical experience."

If her bill passes, it would allow those hours to qualify as official "Teacher of Record" credit toward a standard teaching certification.

Arizona's notoriously low wages has been blamed for an estimated 8,600 teacher shortage in its public school system.