In early 2022, DC Public Schools substitute teachers promised to take a "Day of Absence" every Monday until they received a sufficient pay raise.

Now, in the middle of May, they're still picketing.

"Substitute teachers are grossly underpaid," substitute teacher Lydia Curtis told 7News.

After our story about substitute teacher pay aired in January, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser promised to increase their pay from $15 per hour to $17.

Then a month later, the subs learned from 7News the Mayor had once again agreed to increase their pay to $20 an hour.

Now these educators want even more.

"A $35 raise. They have the money," said Myrtle Washington, President of Washington Substitute Teachers United.

"We want to be able to make a career out of being a substitute teacher and to be able to make enough money to live within Washington, DC and right now we can't do that," Curtis said.

7News looked into substitute pay in other local school systems and found while subs in DC Public Schools make $20 an hour, Montgomery County Public Schools pays less: $18.79 an hour, and Fairfax County Public Schools pays even lower at $17.79 per hour.

Pay isn't the only thing these educators are concerned about; they also continue to push for benefits, legal protections, and professional development.

7News reached out to Mayor Bowser and DCPS about the substitute teachers' demands. DCPS responded with the following statement:

DC Public Schools greatly values the contributions of our substitute teachers. DCPS has enacted Mayor Bowser’s pay increases for our substitute teachers, with daily substitute teachers now earning $20/hour, and long-term substitute teachers now earning $25/hour. We appreciate the critical support that DCPS substitute teachers provide to our schools and the joyful learning experiences they provide to our students."