Fired from his band, rock guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn takes a job as a 4th grade substitute teacher at an uptight private school where his free livin' lifestyle, attitude, music and antics soon influences the students to explore other sides of themselves the school doesn't encourage. Finn's real goal in taking the job is to recruit a 9-year-old guitar prodigy, Zack, to become the lead guitarist in a band that would be able to win a "battle of bands", solving Finn's money problems and re-establishing him as a respected rocker.