TLD ACTION NEEDED RE: legislative bills- Contact Senate Education Committee Members today!

[Jean Kilker]

Hi all,

Hopefully this is a second notice asking for your help.

Please see the update from AZLA Legislative liaison, Erin McFarlane.  Several bills involving school libraries have been in the House and this one has now passed to the Senate.

Jean and Beth

TLD co-chairs

Hi everyone,

H2439 passed out of the House, and is assigned to the Senate Education Committee. This bill would require school district governing boards and charter school governing bodies (school boards) adopt procedures by which parents have access to the school’s library catalog of available books or materials and by which parents may receive a list of books or materials borrowed from the library by their children. School boards are required to approve all books in school libraries. Upon approval, a list of all books must be available for public review for at least 60 days.

AzLA is opposed to this bill, and constructed the following talking points. We urge you to reach out to Senate Committee members today to voice your opposition to the bill. I listed member names and contact information at the end of this email. Please act now in support of school libraries!

H2439: School library books; parental review

·         Teacher Librarians are trained in collection development. They are uniquely qualified to select relevant and appropriate materials to include in the school library collection. Each title selected for inclusion in a school library is reviewed by the Teacher Librarian and deemed fit for the community need.

·         Parents can currently visit the library catalog to see titles that students can access at school.

·         School districts release budgets for material purchases that need to be selected and ordered within a specific timeline. The 60 day review period would interrupt the selection process, and limit student access to new material.

·         School Districts purchase databases with access to thousands of titles. There is no public preview option without purchase. Teacher Librarians would be unable to offer these resources, and students would be unable to access these valuable resources.

·         The 60 day review period would delay access to library material that is current and timely. Students would lose out on what they are interested in reading.

·         School Districts approve all school library purchases before ordering.

·         School Boards already  have policies for challenging books.

·         This bill would put an undue burden on School Districts, limit access to reading material, and undermine the expertise of Teacher Librarians.

Senate Education Committee re: HB2439

 

Chairman     Boyer (R - Dist 20); pbo...@azleg.gov; (602) 926-4173

Vice-Chair     Shope (R - Dist 8) tsh...@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3012

GOP           Barto (R - Dist 15); nba...@azleg.gov; (602) 926-5766

                Gray (R - Dist 21); rg...@azleg.gov; (602) 926-5413

                Pace (R - Dist 25); tp...@azleg.gov; (602) 926-5760

Dem            Gonzales (D - Dist 3); sgon...@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3278

                Hatathlie (D - Dist 7); thata...@azleg.gov;

                Marsh (D - 28); cma...@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3184

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