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Companion bill
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Requires each school district to maintain a school library in each elementary and secondary school in the district
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor Fred Thiele
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S7922
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to maintaining school libraries
Purpose
To ensure that each elementary and secondary school in New York State maintains a school library and employs a certified school librarian.
Summary of provisions
This bill adds a new Section 274-a to the Education Law to require all school districts to maintain a school library in each elementary and secondary school and to employ a certified school library media specialist or duly licensed teacher of library for each such school library. The bill also provides a waiver process that can be used by districts that fall within a designated shortage area for library media specialists or by districts that have demonstrated that their needs can be met through a sharing amendment with a public library.
Justification
School libraries are an integral part of the educational program. They support and complement all phases of the formal instructional program in the various areas of the curriculum, and enrich each student's life. For many, the school library is the first introduction the student has to any library facility. Because of this unique aspect, the school library will be the only place the student can learn the proper usage of a library and its valuable resources.
An adequate, comprehensive school library program is essential in providing quality education for all students in today's modern and progressive society. The library, therefore, becomes that place where the student can reinforce his language art and reading skills, become aware of how to retrieve background reference materials for his everyday life and school assignments, and learn to think and act as an independent individual to gain the necessary information to attain intellectual maturity.
It is of utmost importance that a school library be staffed by competent professionally trained personnel who are certified or licensed in their area of responsibility. The librarian should be a professional trained to look at and work for a total school program. The librarian should be professionally astute to be able to select and acquire those materials which will assist each student to reach out for his or her intellectual potential and to be able to achieve a wide, unencumbered view of the world and how the student can best fit into it. Only a competent certified or licensed librarian can add that dimension to a child's life.
If maintaining a school library would place an extreme financial burden on a district, the waiver provision allows the district to explore alternative ways to meet the needs of their students through a sharing arrangement with a public library. The waiver process is also available if there is a shortage locally of library media specialists.
Legislative history
2007-08: A.8543/S.1686 2005-06: A.6106/S.3112 2003-04: A.6499-A/S.4573 2001-02: S.3387
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
The first day of July next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.