Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries Act or the SKILLs Act - Amends title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize appropriations for FY2008-FY2013 for the Improving Literacy through School Libraries grant program.
Requires states and local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive school improvement funds to ensure that by the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year there is at least one highly qualified school library media specialist in every school that receives such funds.
Requires Improving Literacy through School Libraries funds to be: (1) proportionally distributed to serve students in elementary, middle, and high schools; (2) used for media resources appropriate for all grades; and (3) used for professional development in information literacy instruction that is appropriate for all grades.
Expands the program of grants to states and subgrants to LEAs for the recruitment, retention, and professional development of teachers to require that highly qualified school library media specialists be included in the focus of such efforts.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2864 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2864
To amend the provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 regarding school library media specialists, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 26, 2007
Mr. Grijalva (for himself and Mr. Ehlers) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 regarding school library media specialists, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening Kids' Interest in
Learning and Libraries Act'' or the ``SKILLs Act''.
TITLE I--SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST REQUIREMENTS
SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 1002(b)(4) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6302) is amended by striking ``2002'' and inserting
``2008''.
SEC. 102. STATE PLANS.
Section 1111(b)(8) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(8)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (F);
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
``(E) how the State educational agency will meet
the goal of ensuring that there is not less than 1
highly qualified school library media specialist in
each school receiving funds under this part, as
described in section 1119(h)(2); and''.
SEC. 103. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PLANS.
Section 1112(b)(1)(N) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6312(b)(1)(N)) is amended by inserting ``, including
ensuring that there is not less than 1 highly qualified school library
media specialist in each school'' before the semicolon.
SEC. 104. SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS.
Section 1114(b)(1)(D) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314(b)(1)(D)) is amended by inserting ``school
library media specialists,'' after ``teachers,''.
SEC. 105. TARGETED ASSISTANCE SCHOOLS.
Section 1115(c)(1)(F) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6315(c)(1)(F)) is amended by inserting ``school
library media specialists,'' after ``teachers,''.
SEC. 106. QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHERS, PARAPROFESSIONALS, AND SCHOOL
LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS.
(a) In General.--Section 1119 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6319) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``teachers and
paraprofessionals'' and inserting ``teachers,
paraprofessionals, and school library media specialists'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (h) through (l) as
subsections (i) through (m), respectively;
(3) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
``(h) School Library Media Specialists.--
``(1) Local educational agency requirement.--Each local
educational agency receiving assistance under this part shall
ensure, to the extent feasible, that each school that is served
by the local educational agency and receives funds under this
part employs not less than 1 highly qualified school library
media specialist.
``(2) State goal.--Each State educational agency receiving
assistance under this part shall--
``(A) establish a goal of having not less than 1
highly qualified school library media specialist in
each public school that is served by the State
educational agency and receives funds under this part;
and
``(B) specify a date by which the State will reach
this goal, which date shall be not later than the
beginning of the 2010-2011 school year.''; and
(4) in subsection (i) (as redesignated by subsection
(a)(2)), by striking ``and paraprofessionals'' and inserting
``, paraprofessionals, and school library and media
specialists''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1119(l) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (as redesignated by subsection (a)(2))
(20 U.S.C. 6319(l)) is amended by striking ``subsection (1)'' and
inserting ``subsection (m)''.
SEC. 107. IMPROVING LITERACY THROUGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES.
Section 1251 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6383) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``well-trained,
professionally certified'' and inserting ``highly qualified'';
(2) in subsection (e)(3)--
(A) by striking ``Distribution.--The'' and
inserting the following: ``Distribution.--
``(A) Geographic distribution.--The''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Balance among types of schools.--In awarding
grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall take
into consideration whether funding is proportionally
distributed among projects serving students in
elementary, middle, and high schools.'';
(3) in subsection (f)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by inserting ``the need for student
literacy improvement at all grade levels,''
before ``the need for''; and
(ii) by striking ``well-trained,
professionally certified'' and inserting
``highly qualified'';
(4) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the
following:
``(B) a needs assessment of which grade spans are
served, ensuring funding is proportionally distributed
to serve students in elementary, middle, and high
schools;'';
(5) in subsection (g)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking the semicolon at
the end and inserting ``and reading materials, such as
books and materials that--
``(A) are appropriate for students in all grade
levels to be served and for students with special
learning needs, including students who are limited
English proficient; and
``(B) engage the interest of readers at all reading
levels;''; and
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``professional
development described in section 1222(d)(2)'' and
inserting ``professional development in information
literacy instruction that is appropriate for all
grades, including the assessment of student literacy
needs, the coordination of reading and writing
instruction across content areas, and training in
literacy strategies in all content areas''.
TITLE II--PREPARING, TEACHING, AND RECRUITING HIGH QUALITY TEACHERS,
SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS, AND PRINCIPALS
SEC. 201. TEACHER, SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST, AND PRINCIPAL
TRAINING AND RECRUITING FUND.
Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in the title heading, by striking ``HIGH QUALITY
TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS'' and inserting ``HIGH QUALITY
TEACHERS, SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS, AND PRINCIPALS '';
and
(2) in the part heading, by striking ``TEACHER AND
PRINCIPAL'' and inserting ``TEACHER, SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA
SPECIALIST, AND PRINCIPAL''.
SEC. 202. PURPOSE.
Section 2101(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601(1)) is amended to read as follows:
``(1) increase student academic achievement through
strategies such as--
``(A) improving teacher, school library media
specialist, and principal quality; and
``(B) increasing the number of highly qualified
teachers in the classroom, highly qualified school
library media specialists in the library, and highly
qualified principals and assistant principals in
schools; and''.
SEC. 203. STATE APPLICATIONS.
Section 2112(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6612(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``, school library media
specialists,'' before ``and principals''; and
(2) in paragraph (10), by inserting ``, school library
media specialist,'' before ``and paraprofessional''.
SEC. 204. STATE USE OF FUNDS.
Section 2113(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6613(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
inserting ``highly qualified school library media
specialists,'' before ``principals''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``, highly
qualified school library media specialists,'' before
``and principals''; and
(2) in paragraph (6), by striking ``teachers and
principals'' each place the term appears and inserting
``teachers, school library media specialists, and principals''.
SEC. 205. LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.
Section 2123(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6623(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (8)
the following:
``(9)(A) Developing and implementing strategies to assist
in recruiting and retaining highly qualified school library
media specialists; and
``(B) providing appropriate professional development for
such specialists, particularly related to skills necessary to
assist students to improve the students' academic achievement,
including skills related to information literacy.''.
TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.
Section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(23)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(II), by striking ``and'' after
the semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (C)(ii)(VII), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) when used with respect to a school library
media specialist employed in an elementary school or
secondary school in a State, means that the school
library media specialist--
``(i) holds at least a bachelor's degree;
``(ii) has obtained full State
certification as a school library media
specialist or passed the State teacher
licensing examination, with State certification
in library media, in such State, except that
when used with respect to any school library
media specialist teaching in a public charter
school, the term means that the school library
media specialist meets the requirements set
forth in the State's public charter school law;
and
``(iii) has not had certification or
licensure requirements waived on an emergency,
temporary, or provisional basis.''.
SEC. 302. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 note) is
amended--
(1) by striking the item relating to section 1119 and
inserting the following:
``Sec. 1119. Qualifications for teachers, paraprofessionals, and school
library media specialists.'';
(2) by striking the item relating to title II and inserting
the following:
``TITLE II--PREPARING, TRAINING, AND RECRUITING HIGH QUALITY TEACHERS,
SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS, AND PRINCIPALS'';
and
(3) by striking the item relating to part A of title II and
inserting the following:
``Part A--Teacher, School Library Media Specialist, and Principal
Training and Recruiting Fund''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line