[kids-lib] OASL’s Follow-Up on House Bill 2586

[Jennifer Maurer]

Please pardon the cross-posting.

As you likely know, HB 2586 passed last year and went into effect in January.  As a result, school districts now have to indicate how they are planning for a “strong school library program” as part of the district continuous improvement plan (CIP) that they submit every other year.  A sub-committee of OASL worked with ODE, the Oregon Department of Education, to help draft the library questions for the CIP and has asked to be included in writing the language for the library portion of the OAR, or Oregon Administrative Rule.

If ODE’s plans stay on track, the updated OAR should be in place by the end of December.  Because some districts have to submit CIPs in September, OASL members mailed a letter and position statement about HB 2586 and a list of school library resources to all Oregon school superintendents and principals at the end of April.  You can view the letter and resources at www.oasl.info/resources/HB2586.html<http://www.oasl.info/resources/HB2586.html>.

Below is the email that Susan Stone, a member of the HB 2586 sub-committee, posted to the OASL listserv about this matter.

FYI,
Jen

Jennifer Maurer
School Library Consultant
Library Development
Oregon State Library
250 Winter Street NE
Salem, OR  97301-3950
503-378-5011
jennifer.maurer at state.or.us<mailto:jennifer.maurer at state.or.us>

To receive the latest news about OSLIS, www.oslis.org<http://www.oslis.org>, sign up for the listserv,
OSLIST, at http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/oslist.

Dear OASL Membership:

Hitting the mailboxes of superintendents and principals this week is a letter from OASL sharing information about House Bill 2586 – the 2009 legislation that requires school districts to respond to how they are implementing a “strong school library program” in their district.

Following the passage of House Bill 2586 last Fall, a sub-committee of OASL board members received the opportunity to draft language to help communicate the inclusion of HB 2586 into the Continuous Improvement Plans (otherwise referred to as "CIP" or the district-level version of a School Improvement Plan).  It’s our understanding that it’s unusual for the ODE advisory committee to include stakeholder such as ourselves, so we were very pleased to have participated.

We’ve been itching to hear what/how the State would spread the word to administrators, but as yet details have not been put forth for the 2010-11 plans (we’re told maybe by next Fall).  Thus, we decided to craft an OASL Position Statement on the Characteristics of a Strong School Library Program to inform, guide and advocate for strong school library programs.

You can see what we mailed earlier this week to 1400 principals and 200 superintendents online at www.oasl.info/resources/HB2586.html<http://www.oasl.info/resources/HB2586.html> .  You'll also find resources you can use to advocate for your library, and that your administration will find helpful as they address the school library portion of the CIP document.

Check with your administrator – did he/she get the letter?  Does he/she have questions you/we can help with?  Every district is in a different place in terms of having a school library program, much less a “strong” school library program. Since the CIP document is often filled out by district rather than school level administrators, find out who has this responsibility in your district and offer your support in crafting a plan.

If you have any questions, contact our current and incoming presidents via their emails below.

Good luck!
We’ll keep you posted.

Carol Dinges                                                               Ruth Murray
OASL President, 2009-2010                                      OASL Incoming President, 2010-2011
carol.Dinges at lebanon.k12.or.us<mailto:carol.Dinges at lebanon.k12.or.us>                                murrayr at pdx.edu<mailto:murrayr at pdx.edu>

Sent on behalf of the OASL Executive Board, and the HB 2586 Sub-Committee by

Susan Stone
Teacher-Librarian, Library Services Specialist K-12
Portland Public Schools / Office of Student Academic Support
Rice Annex
6433 NE Tillamook, Portland, OR 97213
503.916.5404 x71044 503.916.2795 fax
sstone at pps.k12.or.us

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/kids-lib/attachments/20100528/da471bc3/attachment.html>