BRISTOL, Va. – Substitute teachers in the Bristol Virginia school district could become the latest group to suffer from the harmful side effects of the nation’s new health care law.

The Bristol Herald Courier reports school board members are considering a money-saving plan to outsource their substitute teaching needs to a temporary employment agency.

The district currently has 35 educators who regularly serve as substitutes. Those teachers would be out of work if the district contracts with a temp agency for substitutes. Bristol school officials are considering the change so the district will be shielded from having to provide the part-time employees with any health insurance benefits, as required under the Affordable Care Act.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

“This year, as a precaution, we have limited substitutes and several aide positions to 27.5 hours per week,” district Finance Director Tammy Jones told the Bristol Herald Courier. “That has caused us to be short sometimes in our classrooms.”

Even if Bristol school leaders outsources for substitute teachers, the district’s overall costs for substitutes is expected to rise. The district employs 15 substitutes on an average school day, and has an annual “substitute” budget of $175,000.

Board Vice Chairwoman Beth Rhinehart questioned whether temp agency substitutes would be the best people for the job.

“I think when you put folks in front of children, you want them to be there because that’s what they want to do,” Rhinehart said at Monday night’s school board meeting.

That might be a luxury the district can no longer afford, thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

The board tabled the temp agency plan for now, but members are expected to decide the issue at their December meeting, the news site reports.