NY State Senate Bill 2021-S8212

Senate Bill S8212

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Requires a school library media specialist in each elementary, intermediate, middle, junior high and senior high school

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Libraries Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 02, 2022	referred to libraries

2021-S8212 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6225
Current Committee:: Senate Libraries
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add §286, amd §711, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: A40

2021-S8212 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires a school library media specialist in each elementary, intermediate, middle, junior high and senior high school with one such specialist being employed full-time in schools with more than five hundred students and two such specialists being employed full-time in schools with more than two thousand students.

2021-S8212 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8212

SPONSOR: RYAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring a school
library media specialist in each elementary, intermediate, middle,
junior high and senior high school

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation will aid in the teaching of media literacy by ensuring
each school has at least one library media specialist available.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends the education law by adding a new section 286.

Section two amends subdivision 2 of section 711 of the education law.

Section three establishes the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Click here

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Media literacy is a broad term that encompasses a wide set of skills,
ranging from thinking critically about news and opinion articles to
dealing with cyberbullying to creating and sharing content on online and
social media platforms. Media and mass media include a wide variety of
content that students spend their time reading, watching, experiencing
and interacting with, including news programs, opinions, advertisements,
marketing messages, video games, music streaming apps, online video
streaming and social media.

We live in an era of media saturation, and research indicates that
students do not have the skills necessary to navigate the vast amount of
information online. Media literacy helps students become wiser consumers
of media as well as responsible producers of their own content. Like-
wise, teaching media literacy fosters critical thinking in students,
which can eventually become second nature.  Whether it be distinguishing
between news articles, sponsored content, and advertisements on a
website's homepage or how best to evaluate the veracity of social media
posts, requiring media literacy professionals in our public schools will
help to ensure that our students are well equipped to navigate the world
around them.  This legislation will aid in the teaching of media litera-
cy by requiring at least one library media specialist in every elementa-
ry, intermediate, middle, junior high and senior high school.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be detennined.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S8212 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8212
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 2, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RYAN  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Libraries
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation  to  requiring  a  school
   library  media  specialist  in  each elementary, intermediate, middle,
   junior high and senior high school
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 286 to
 read as follows:
   §  286.  SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST. 1. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER
 PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY AND SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDI-
 VISION TWO OF THIS SECTION, EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL EMPLOY  A  CERTI-
 FIED  SCHOOL  LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST IN EACH ELEMENTARY, INTERMEDIATE,
 MIDDLE, JUNIOR HIGH AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL WITHIN  THREE  YEARS  OF  THE
 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION.
   2. EMPLOYMENT OF CERTIFIED SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST SHALL BE IN
 ACCORDANCE WITH THE FOLLOWING STANDARDS:
   A.  IN  EACH  SCHOOL  WITH  AN ENROLLMENT OF NOT MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED
 STUDENTS, A CERTIFIED SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST SHALL BE  EMPLOYED
 AS FIFTEEN-HUNDREDTHS OF A FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STAFF MEMBER;
   B.  IN EACH SCHOOL WITH AN ENROLLMENT OF MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED BUT NOT
 MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED  STUDENTS,  A  CERTIFIED  SCHOOL  LIBRARY  MEDIA
 SPECIALIST SHALL BE EMPLOYED AS A THREE-TENTHS OF A FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT
 STAFF MEMBER;
   C.  IN  EACH ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOL WITH AN ENROLLMENT OF MORE
 THAN THREE HUNDRED BUT NO MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED STUDENTS,  A  CERTIFIED
 SCHOOL  LIBRARY  MEDIA  SPECIALIST  SHALL BE EMPLOYED AS A ONE-HALF OF A
 FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STAFF MEMBER;
   D. IN EACH SCHOOL  WITH  AN  ENROLLMENT  OF  MORE  THAN  FIVE  HUNDRED
 STUDENTS,  A CERTIFIED SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST SHALL BE EMPLOYED
 AS A FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STAFF MEMBER;
   E. IN EACH SCHOOL  WITH  AN  ENROLLMENT  OF  MORE  THAN  ONE  THOUSAND
 STUDENTS  BUT  NO  MORE  THAN  TWO THOUSAND STUDENTS, A CERTIFIED SCHOOL
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09927-03-2

 S. 8212                             2
 
 LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST AND A SUPPORT STAFF PERSON SHALL BE EMPLOYED AS
 A FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STAFF MEMBER;
   F.  (I)  IN  EACH  SCHOOL  WITH AN ENROLLMENT OF AT LEAST TWO THOUSAND
 STUDENTS, TWO CERTIFIED SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS AND TWO SUPPORT
 STAFF PERSONS SHALL BE EMPLOYED AS A FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STAFF MEMBER;
   (II) AN ADDITIONAL FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STAFF MEMBER SHALL BE EMPLOYED
 AS A SUPPORT STAFF PERSON FOR  EACH  ADDITIONAL  ONE  THOUSAND  STUDENTS
 ENROLLED IN A SCHOOL.
   3.  THE COMMISSIONER MAY, UPON APPLICATION BY A SCHOOL DISTRICT, WAIVE
 THE APPLICABILITY OF THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISIONS ONE AND TWO OF  THIS
 SECTION FOR UP TO TWO YEARS, IF SUCH APPLICATION DEMONSTRATES THE SCHOOL
 IS  WITHIN A DESIGNATED SHORTAGE AREA FOR CERTIFIED SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA
 SPECIALISTS, AND SUCH APPLICATION DEMONSTRATES THAT SUCH  SCHOOL  HAS  A
 TWO-YEAR  PLAN  TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION;
 HOWEVER, NO SUCH WAIVER SHALL BE GRANTED FOR MORE THAN  TWO  CONSECUTIVE
 SCHOOL YEARS.
   §  2. Subdivision 2 of section 711 of the education law, as amended by
 section 2 of part A-1 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2011, is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   2.  School  library  materials, for the purposes of this article shall
 mean both audio/visual materials and printed materials that may  or  may
 not  require magnification which meet all of the following criteria: (1)
 materials which are catalogued and  processed  as  part  of  the  school
 library  or  media  center for use by elementary and/or secondary school
 children and teachers; (2) materials which with reasonable care and  use
 may  be  expected  to  last  more than one year; and (3) materials which
 would not be eligible for aid pursuant to sections seven hundred one and
 seven hundred fifty-one of this title. School library materials  meeting
 these  criteria  may include (i) hard cover and paperback books, period-
 icals, that is, publications which appear at regular intervals  of  less
 than  one year on a continuing basis for an indefinite period, documents
 other than books, pamphlets, musical scores, other printed and published
 materials, and (ii) for school year nineteen hundred  eighty-six--eight-
 y-seven  and  thereafter,  audio/visual  materials including films, film
 strips, micro-film, sound recordings, processed slides,  transparencies,
 kinescopes,  video tapes, maps, charts, globes, pictorial works, includ-
 ing pictures  and  picture  sets,  reproductions,  photographs,  graphic
 works, ANY AUDIO/VISUAL, ONLINE OR ELECTRONIC MATERIALS NEEDED FOR MEDIA
 LITERACY  PROGRAMS,  and  any  other audio/visual materials of a similar
 nature made.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of July  next  succeeding
 the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the
 addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are  authorized
 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

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