Free Resources: Instructional Classification Toolkit for School Library Media Specialists

Free Resources: Instructional Classification Toolkit for School Library Media Specialists

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association, published a set of new advocacy tools developed to address the issue of the categorization of school library media specialists as "non-instructional."

The Instructional Classification Toolkit was designed to help school library media specialists advocate their role as educators within their schools and districts, as well as to provide talking points for use in opposing the "65 percent solution" legislation that threatens funding for school library media services on the state level.

The legislation, under consideration in many states, requires that 65 percent of all funding for schools be spent on "direct classroom instruction." Supporters of the proposed bill are urging states to use the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) categories to define direct classroom instruction. In that categorization, expenses for school library media services are listed as "support services - instruction," which excludes them from the proposed funding formula.

The Instructional Classification Toolkit contains an extensive FAQ section, a link to the AASL position statement on instructional classification, a sample op-ed piece, sample letter to the editor and a fact sheet. The toolkit is located online at http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/toolkits/.