BILL NUMBER: AB 2311 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Davis
FEBRUARY 24, 2000
An act to add Article 8 (commencing with Section 18190) to Chapter
2 of Part 11 of the Education Code, relating to school libraries.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2311, as introduced, Davis. School libraries: California
School Library Media Teacher Expansion Program.
Existing law requires the governing board of each school district
to provide school library services for pupils and teachers of the
district by establishing and maintaining school libraries or by
contractual arrangements with another public agency.
This bill would establish the California School Library Media
Teacher Expansion Program, administered by the State Department of
Education, to serve as an incentive program to encourage school
districts that maintain elementary or middle schools that participate
in the Immediate Intervention/Low-Performing Schools Program to hire
professional library personnel by providing reimbursement for some
of the salary and benefits of credentialed library media teachers and
classified library technicians. Funding would be approved for 3
years for each credentialed library media teacher and each classified
library technician hired. In establishing funding priorities for
the hiring of credentialed library media teachers and library
technicians, the State Department of Education would be required to
utilize certain criteria, including the action plan developed by the
low-performing school and the level of free reading included in that
plan. Each school that receives funding would be required to have
all teachers in the school participate in staff development. The
bill would require the State Department of Education to evaluate the
program to study the impact of hiring credentialed library media
teachers in low-performing schools and the effectiveness and impact
of free reading programs in low-performing schools.
The bill would specify that administration of its provisions would
be subject to an appropriation to the State Department of Education,
for the purposes of the program, in the annual Budget Act.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) California's public schools employ approximately 1,090
credentialed library media teachers, or one for every 5,342 pupils.
The national average is one school library media teacher for every
882 pupils.
(2) There is significant research that indicates that a direct
relationship exists between pupil access to a school library and a
credentialed school library media teacher and pupil success. Studies
have also indicated that pupil access to the library media center is
significantly greater in schools with a professional school library
media teacher than in schools without one.
(3) Pupils at schools with a better funded school library media
center tend to achieve higher average scores, whether their schools
and communities are rich or poor and whether adults in the community
are well educated or not.
(4) Low-performing schools whose pupils are reading below grade
level can benefit dramatically from having a quality library media
program with a full-time library media teacher supported by a
classified library technician. The library media program supports the
curriculum taught by every classroom teacher, provides resources and
instruction beyond the textbook and provides an opportunity to fully
implement free reading programs for all at-risk pupils.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that low-performing
schools maintaining kindergarten and any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive,
that have a high percentage of pupils in those grades who are
reading below grade level use the benefits of a credentialed library
media teacher to develop supplemental free reading programs at the
schoolsite. It is further the intent of the Legislature to provide
funding to assist schools that have been designated as low-performing
hire credentialed library media teachers and classified library
technicians who would support the work of library media teachers.
SEC. 2. Article 8 (commencing with Section 18190) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 11 of the Education Code, to read:
Article 8. The California School Library Media Teacher
Expansion Program
18190. The California School Library Media Teacher Expansion
Program is hereby established to serve as an incentive program of
grant awards to encourage school districts that maintain elementary
or middle schools that participate in the Immediate
Intervention/Low-Performing Schools Program established pursuant to
Section 52053 to hire professional library personnel. The program
shall provide funding for three years to offset one-half of the cost
of the salary and benefits for each credentialed library media
teacher and each classified library technician hired pursuant to this
article.
18192. The California School Library Media Teacher Expansion
Program shall be administered by the State Department of Education.
School districts, consortia of school districts, and county offices
of education that participate in this program shall certify to the
department that the funds received through the program will be used
to offset the costs of the salary and benefits of each credentialed
library media teacher and each classified library technician hired
under the program. For purposes of funding under this article,
school districts may hire a teacher with a valid California teaching
credential who is enrolled in a library media teacher credential
program and has applied for an emergency library media teacher
permit.
18193. (a) A district may apply for funding for each school
participating in the Immediate Intervention/Low-Performing Schools
Program that has a pupil enrollment of 400 or more pupils and in
which no credentialed library media teacher or classified library
technician is employed to pay one-half of the salary and benefits of
a credentialed library media teacher and one-half of the salary and
benefits of a classified library technician for each eligible school.
(b) The state will reimburse an applicant approved for funding
one-half of the actual cost of the credentialed library media teacher'
s salary and benefits, in an amount not to exceed a total of fifty
thousand dollars ($50,000) annually.
(c) The state shall reimburse an applicant approved for funding
one-half of the actual costs of the classified library technician's
salary and benefits, not to exceed a total of twenty thousand dollars
($20,000) annually.
18194. (a) A district, consortium of districts, or a county
office of education may apply for funding under this article for each
school district or a consortium of districts that has schools with
less than 400 pupils enrolled to hire credentialed library media
teachers and classified library technicians that will be employed
part time in two or more schools participating in the Immediate
Intervention/Low Performing Schools Program with an enrollment of
less than 400 pupils.
(b) Funding from this article shall be provided to districts, a
consortium of districts, or a county office of education in an amount
that constitutes one-half of the cost of a library media teacher or
a classified library technician either of whom is working in more
than one school with an enrollment of less than 400 pupils.
18195. (a) The department shall make application forms available
to school districts, consortiums of school districts, and county
offices of education to be used to provide information to the
department concerning the total cost of hiring school library media
teachers and classified library technicians and to establish funding
priorities. Once an applicant has been approved for funding under
this article, no additional applications shall be filed. Funding
shall be approved for three years for each credentialed library media
teacher and each classified library technician hired. Applicants
shall certify that the employee hired under the provisions of this
article continues to be employed, in his or her original capacity,
during each year of state funding. The department shall provide
funding to the district, consortium of districts, or county office of
education, if it is selected for participation, based on an amount
that does not exceed the amount allowed under subdivision (b) or (c)
of Section 18194 or subdivision (b) of Section 18195. Funding shall
be available to each participating school district for up to three
years for each school library media teacher and classified library
technician hired by the district.
(b) In establishing funding priorities for the hiring of
credentialed library media teachers and library technicians pursuant
to this article, the department shall utilize the following criteria:
(1) The action plan developed by the low-performing schools
pursuant to Section 52023 and the role the credentialed library media
teacher and the library media center will play in the school
recovery plan.
(2) The level of free reading at the schoolsite that is included
as an element of the action plan and the role of the credentialed
library media teacher and the library media center in the
implementation of the free reading program.
(3) The degree to which the action plan utilizes instructional
materials for reading and language arts purchased by the district
pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 60200) and Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 60450) of Part 33.
(4) Whether or not the credentialed library media teachers hired
will be full-time or part-time employees, with the highest priority
going to those applicants that hire full-time employees.
(5) The percentage of the workload of the credentialed library
media teacher will devote to the library media center, with the
highest priority going to applicants that will be hiring credentialed
library media teachers that will have 100 percent of their time
dedicated to the school library media center.
(6) Priority will be given to those applicants that have defined
the role of the library media teacher in the districtwide school
library plan required by Section 18181.
18196. Each school that receives funding under this program shall
require all teachers in the school participate in staff development
that is designed to determine how the library media center and its
staff can best be utilized to implement the action plan required
pursuant to Section 52023 and provide the best reading program for
the pupils of the school.
18197. (a) For the purposes of this article, "library media
teacher" means a classroom teacher who possesses or is in the process
of obtaining a library media teacher services credential consistent
with Section 44868.
(b) For the purposes of this article, "classified library
technician" means a noncredentialed individual employed as a
classified employee who assists the credentialed library media
teacher in the provision of library services consistent with Section
45343.
18198. The State Department of Education shall evaluate the
program established pursuant to this article to study the impact of
hiring credentialed library media teachers in low-performing schools
and the effectiveness and impact of free reading programs in
low-performing schools.
18199. Administration of this article is subject to an
appropriation to the State Department of Education for the purposes
of this article, in the annual Budget Act.