AASL develops a position statement on instructional classification

CHICAGO - The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has posted a new position statement on Instructional Classification of School Library Media Specialists.

The position statement was developed by the AASL Task Force on Instructional Classification to voice support for the inclusion of certified school library media specialists as part of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) definition of "instructional" school staff and services. AASL believes that school library media centers are classrooms in which school library media specialists teach and students and teachers learn.

AASL's Board of Directors appointed the Task Force on Instructional Classification during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in January, in response to the concerns of members over the proposed "65% solution" legislation. The legislation, being considered in many states nationwide, mandates that 65 percent of all funding for schools be spent on "direct classroom instruction." This presents a problem for school library media programs and staff, when the proposed legislation uses the current definition from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) classifying school library media services as "non-instructional."

"AASL is working to achieve universal recognition of the critical role of school library media specialists in K-12 education and we hope to influence the education community and gain support for our efforts," said AASL President J. Linda Williams.

The new position statement is available at http://www.ala.org/aasl/positions.