Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander says that Obamacare is forcing schools in his state to cut the hours of full time teachers, leaving substitutes to take up the slack.

The Hill:

Alexander, who is ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said some school districts are being forced to employ more part-time workers, and to keep their hours low, to save on costs. That is also leading schools to use more substitute teachers, he said.

"Tennessee schools are also being hit hard by higher health insurance costs that are forcing districts to cut jobs or hours," Alexander said Thursday. "ObamaCare has forced schools to save costs with more part-time employees, from substitute teachers to coaches to custodial and administrative staff.

"Schools should be free to make decisions based on what will help students learn what they need to know, not on how to cope with ObamaCare's burdensome and expensive mandates," Alexander said.

Alexander and most Republicans have called for a full repeal of the law.

That's not likely to happen while President Obama is in office, but the GOP hopes to use problems with the healthcare law to end the Senate Democratic majority in the Senate.

A story on Alexander's remarks in The Chattanoogan also points out that hours for substitute teachers have also been cut:

School districts reporting fiscal challenges because of Obamacare include: Carter County, Clarksville, Franklin Special School District, Johnson City, Maury County, Oneida Special School District, Rutherford County, Scott County, Stewart County, Washington County and Wilson County.

Maury County Schools, south of Nashville, for example, is limiting its substitute teachers to no more than 28 hours per week. One school board member told the local news: "Students struggle enough having one substitute teacher, but then now we're going to have to possibly split the substitute time between two substitute teachers. It just makes it hard on the students to learn."

And the nightmare continues.