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Write to your state legislators. Thank your legislators for their support of education and school libraries in the past and tell them how important it is to you that your children have a teacher-librarian in middle and high school libraries; note that you are concerned that cutting the secondary school library media program will impact the quality of your child's education.
District 41
Rep. Marcie Maxwell: maxwell.marcie@leg.wa.gov 360-786-7894 Rep. Judy Clibborn: clibborn.judy@leg.wa.gov 360-786-7926 Sen. Steve Litzow : litzow.steve @leg.wa.gov 360-786-7641 District 48 Rep. Deb Eddy: eddy.deborah@leg.wa.gov 360-786-7848 Rep. Ross Hunter: hunter.ross@leg.wa.gov 360-786-7936 Sen. Rodney Tom: tom.rodney@leg.wa.gov 360-786-7694 Click here to learn about the Educational Technology Essential Academic Learning Requirement (EALR). Click here to find out what the RCW says about school libraries. Teacher-librarian certification in the State of Washington: according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, only a certified teacher with an endorsement in library media can be considered a Library Media Specialist, also known as a teacher-librarian. Basic Education Reform Bill: HB 2261 was passed by the state legislature on April 16 and 20, 2009 and was signed by the governor on May 19, 2009 . It redefined what constitutes a basic education in the State of Washington. Among the many components of education that are addressed by this bill is the listing of teacher-librarians in this context: "(d) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical school shall include allocations for the following types of staff in addition to classroom teachers: (i) Principals, including assistant principals, and other certificated building-level administrators; (ii) Teacher librarians, performing functions including information literacy, technology, and media to support school library media programs;" (HB 2261, pg. 13) Due to the expense of enacting this bill in its entirety, the bill dictates that: "The legislature intends that the redefined program of basic education and funding for the program be fully implemented by 2018." (HB 2261, pg. 3) As a result, if this law is followed, schools will not be required to have library media programs operated by teacher-librarians until 2018. If Bellevue Public Schools waits for the state to fund teacher-librarians, it could be up to nine years before our children receive a high-quality information literacy education in middle school and high school. |
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State of Washington |
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