Job Elimination and NCES

Concern: The elimination of school librarian jobs and the continuance of NCES classification of school librarians as 'support staff' rather than 'instructional staff.'

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 6, 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.