Charters and Legislation for Schools

Concern: Oklahoma Association of School Library Media Specialists (OASLMS) is concerned about the development of charters and/or other governing contracts or legislation for schools and school districts which can impact school library media centers.

Action: This concern was approved by the Affiliate Assembly Executive Committee and forwarded to the Assembly for review where it was combined with job loss concerns from Regions 2, 8, and 9.

Concern: The elimination of school librarians allows for the elimination of library programs and the exemption of school librarians from statutory requirements. This lowers standards and compromises the quality of school library programs and adversely affects student achievement.

Action: The AASL Board responded:

• AASL continues to work with the ALA Washington Office on passing the SKILLS Act.
• Anne Eubank was asked to review the Instructional Classification toolkit for any necessary updates.
• Partnering with other organizations to support the role of LMS in instructional programs is part of the L4L initiative.
• The Crisis Toolkit is in place and addresses the elimination of school librarians and programs and felt an additional white paper on the topic was not necessary.