SKILLS ACT - We need to support our School Librarians

The SKILLS Act is a very important piece of legislation that is critical to the future of school librarians. Here are the positive outcomes if you ask your legislator to support it:

* Requires school districts, to the extent feasible, to ensure that every school within the district employs at least one highly qualified school library media specialist in each school library;
* Defines highly qualified school library media specialists as those who have a bachelor's degree and have obtained full state certification as a school library media specialist or passed the state teacher licensing examination, with state certification in library media in such state;
* Establishes as a state goal that there be at least one highly qualified school library media specialist in every public school no later than the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year;
* Broadens the focus of training, professional development, and recruitment activities to include school library media specialists;
* Ensures that funds will serve elementary, middle, and high school students;
* Requires books and materials to be appropriate for and engage the interest of students in all grade levels and students with special learning needs, including English language learners.

ALA has made it very easy to contact your Representative and ask them to co-sponsor the SKILLs Act.

Please go to this link. You can put in your zip code and they already have email messages ready to be sent to your legislator. All you have to do is write a few sentences asking your legislator to support this legislation.
http://www.capwiz.com/ala/home/