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SKILLs Act Gives High Marks to School LibrariansAs some 50 librarians attending the American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., looked on, a bipartisan group of senators and representatives announced June 26 the introduction of the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries Act, which mandates every public school district in the nation “to the extent feasible [to have] not less than one highly qualified school library media specialist in each public school” by the start of the 2010–11 school year. “The SKILLs Act underscores the value of the hiring and retention of qualified school library media specialists,” asserted Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who is cosponsoring the bill with Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), and Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.). Introduced as H.R. 2864 in the House and S. 1699 in the Senate, the SKILLs Act amends the Improving Literacy through School Libraries program by reclassifying school library media specialists with teachers, principals, and paraprofessionals in federal regulations under the No Child Left Behind Act. The redefinition would place library media teachers among the educators who must be state-certified and pass tests proving that they are highly qualified. NCLB, which is up for reauthorization this year, currently lumps school librarians with such other noninstructional costs as school nurses, counselors, and student transportation—which has increased the vulnerability of media specialists and their collections during funding crises. “Today, only 60% of school libraries have full-time, state-certified school library media specialists on staff,” ALA President Leslie Burger told rally participants. “With limited resources, school administrators are struggling to stretch dollars, and library resource budgets are increasingly being used to make up for shortfalls in other areas.” “NCLB was well-intentioned, but it left a few gaps,” Rep. Grijalva agreed. “One of the gaps this legislation fills is to specify the role, function, and status of school librarians.” Remarking on school librarians’ “unique gift” of empowering students to conduct independent research, Sen. Cochran said, “The SKILLs Act will provide the additional federal support and incentives to strengthen our school libraries, which I hope will improve education in America.” The legislation also calls for the Department of Education to take into consideration during grant-making “the need for student literacy improvement at all grades,” professional development in learning “literacy strategies in all content areas,” and the recruitment and retention of highly qualified school library media specialists. H.R. 2864 has been referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. Its companion bill, S. 1699, has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Posted on June 29, 2007. |
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