Category Archives: legislation

March 19 GLMA Legislative Update

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We are down to the last 10 legislative days of the 2011 session, and they are going to be busy ones!  On Wednesday, lawmakers worked throughout the day and into the evening debating and passing many bills in time for the crucial 30th day deadline.  Monday marks the 31st day, and begins a week of work on education legislation in the Senate.

FY 2012 Budget – GALILEO Funds
Earlier this week we reported the Senate Appropriations Education Subcommittee was to meet to review the FY 2012 budget.  The meeting was rescheduled for Monday, March 21st at 11:00 a.m.  This means you have a few more days to advocate for the restoration of GALILEO funds!  Ask the Senators to accept the House position on restoration of GALILEO funds in the FY 12 budget.

Senate Appropriations Education Subcommittee Members

Sen. Bill Heath, Chair - EMAIL
Sen. Tommie Williams, Vice Chair - EMAIL
Sen. John Bulloch - EMAIL
Sen. Jack Murphy - EMAIL
Sen. Chip Rogers - EMAIL
Sen. Horacena Tate - EMAIL
Sen. Jack Hill, Senate Appropriations Chair - EMAIL
Sen. Fran Millar, Senate Education Committee Chair - EMAIL

HB 172 – Waiver Extension
Scheduled for Tuesday, March 22nd is a Senate Education & Youth Committee hearing on HB 172, legislation that would extend the expenditure control waivers through 2015.

Contact members of the Senate Education & Youth Committee to advocate against the extension of the waiver bill.   If you would like to attend the Senate hearing Tuesday afternoon, please let us know so we can arrange your participation.

Senate Education & Youth Committee Members

Sen. Fran Millar, Chair - EMAIL
Sen. William T. Ligon, Jr., Vice Chair - EMAIL
Sen. Jesse Stone, Secretary - EMAIL
Sen. John Albers - EMAIL
Sen. Vincent Fort - EMAIL
Sen. Donzella James - EMAIL
Sen. Freddie Powell Sims - EMAIL
Sen. Horacena Tate - EMAIL
Sen. Lindsey Tippins - EMAIL
Sen. Tommie Williams - EMAIL
Sen. Bill Jackson - EMAIL
Sen. Chip Rogers - EMAIL

Until next week, stay tuned…

Lass Joiner & Michelle Crider

Update and Action Needed for HB 172

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The Georgia House passed HB 172 yesterday, which extends the waivers on expenditure controls for media centers (as well as class size limits and other areas) through June, 2015.  The bill will now move to the Senate Education and Youth Committee.  PLEASE contact members of that committee (listed below with their e-mails) and share with them how the waivers have affected your media centers this year and last.

Also, Pat Pickard had an opinion piece in yesterday’s AJC regarding the cuts to public libraries which showed we will not be able to depend on public library resources to make up the difference in education cuts. (Their materials budget has been cut 85% since 2008 and their staffing budget is being cut $3 million dollars this year.)

Senate Education and Youth Committee  (e-mails below to make it easy to copy and paste):
Bill Jackson
Chip Rogers
Donzella James
Fran Millar
Freddie Powell Sims
Horacena Tate
Jesse Stone
John Albers
Lindsey Tippins
Tommie Williams
Vincent Fort
William Ligon

bill.jackson@senate.ga.gov
chiprogers21@comcast.net
donzella.james@senate.ga.gov
fran.millar@senate.ga.gov
freddie.sims@senate.ga.gov
horacena.tate@senate.ga.gov
jesse.stone@senate.ga.gov
info@senatoralbers.com
lindsey.tippins@senate.ga.gov
tommie.williams@senate.ga.gov
vincent.fort@senate.ga.gov
william.ligon@senate.ga.gov

Nan T. Brown
Advocacy Chair, GLMA

Urgent Action Need to Protect Library Services and Technology Act and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries

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Dear ALA Members,

I am writing to you today to enlist your participation in an association-wide advocacy campaign to protect funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program.

Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Continuing Resolution (CR), H.R. 1, funding the remainder of Fiscal Year 2011. The House version zeroed out the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program. Action now moves to the Senate, which is drafting its own version of the CR.

This is the time to reach out to your U.S. senators by phone or email – and, importantly, to urge others in your communities to do so as well.  The request to your senators is straightforward. In the Continuing Resolution for 2011:

1.       Maintain the 2010 funding level of $213.5 million for the Library Services and Technology Act.

2.       Maintain the 2010 funding level of $19.1 million for the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program.

Beyond these basic requests, I urge you to share with your senators how you are using this federal funding and how the constituents of your state benefit educationally and economically from library services during these challenging times. Provide examples of how you assist the public with online job searching, preparing resumes, small business development, accessing online information and training, etc.

Inform your senators about the role school libraries play in ensuring students graduate with the skills they need to be successful in today’s workforce. The Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program increases the literacy skills and academic achievement of students by providing them with access to up-to-date school library materials; well-equipped, technologically advanced school library media centers; and well-trained, professionally certified school librarians.

This is only the latest part of our ongoing need for grassroots advocacy on federal appropriations and other library issues. The federal government’s 2012 budget will be the next focus of Congress. Your messages to the senators requesting 2011 support for the Library Services and Technology Act and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program will also influence their deliberations for the 2012 funding levels.

Your advocacy is vital to ensuring that our libraries remain a fundamental force in America’s economic and educational future. As an association – and as a profession – we must work together to have a strong voice.

The ALA Legislative Action Center (http://capwiz.com/ala) can assist you with contacting your senators. If you need further help, call Jeff Kratz or Kristin Murphy with the ALA Office for Government Relations at 1-800-941-8478.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Roberta Stevens
ALA President

February 23 Legislative Alert

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On Tuesday, February 15th, GLMA expressed concerns and opposition to HB 172, legislation that would extend the media center expenditure control waivers through 2015, during a meeting of the House Academic Support Subcommittee.  HB 172 passed the education committee and will be voted on by the House today.  If the House passes the bill, it will then move to the Senate.

We predict the House will pass HB 172 and that it will be assigned to the Senate Education and Youth Committee.  It’s not too early to begin contacting Senators on the committee.  Explain why media center expenditure controls are important and how media materials support the K-12 curriculum.

Senate Education & Youth Committee Members
Sen. Fran Millar, Chair - EMAIL
Sen. William T. Ligon, Jr., Vice Chair - EMAIL
Sen. Jesse Stone, Secretary - EMAIL
Sen. John Albers - EMAIL
Sen. Vincent Fort - EMAIL
Sen. Donzella James - EMAIL
Sen. Freddie Powell Sims - EMAIL
Sen. Horacena Tate - EMAIL
Sen. Lindsey Tippins - EMAIL
Sen. Tommie Williams - EMAIL
Sen. Bill Jackson - EMAIL
Sen. Chip Rogers - EMAIL
Stay tuned…
Lasa Joiner & Michelle Crider

Buffy Hamilton, GLMA Communications Chair

ADVOCACY URGENTLY NEEDED: House Considering Two Amendments Critical to the Future of Libraries

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Please excuse cross-postings:

This week, the House of Representatives will consider two amendments to the FY2011 Continuing Resolution that are critical to libraries – one that would eliminate all Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funding including Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding and another that would halt all funding for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders seeking libraries and bookstore records of U.S. citizens.

E-mail via Capwiz or call your representative at (202) 224-3121 today and tell him or her to oppose Amendment #35 to the Continuing Resolution!

Amendment #35, submitted by U.S. Rep. Scott Garret (R-NJ), seeks to zero out the Institute of Museum and Library Services, eliminating all federal funding specifically for libraries.

Message to Your Representative:

* Libraries are essential to every community, and federal funding is critical for ensuring library resources and services remain available to their constituents.
* LSTA supports all kinds of libraries including school, academic, and public libraries.
* Public libraries are the primary source of no-fee access to the Internet and are active in assisting the public with online job searches, e-government services, and lifelong learning.

E-mail via Capwiz or call your representative at (202) 224-3121 today and tell him or her to support Conyers’ amendment to the Continuing Resolution!

This amendment, sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), would halt all funding for FISA orders seeking libraries and bookstore records of U.S. citizens. Currently, this vote is scheduled for this Thursday, February 17.

Message to Your Representative:

* Vote YES on the Conyers amendment to the FY2011 Continuing Resolution to halt funding for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders that would seek library and bookstore records of U.S. citizens;
* The Conyers amendment seeks to protect individual privacy and personal reading records from inappropriate access by law enforcement;
* Like previous reader privacy bills, this amendment has bipartisan support;
* Law enforcement access to the reading habits of individuals should be held to a higher legal standard in order to protect civil liberties and the right to read and access information.

In the weeks to come, extending your advocacy efforts to your senators as well as continuing to reach out to your representatives will be vitally important to protecting the future of libraries. Questions as well as reports and feedback from your calls and e-mails are welcomed. Please contact Kristin Murphy or Lynne Bradley at the ALA Office of Government Relations, Washington Office.

Kristin Murphy
Government Relations Specialist
American Library Association – Washington Office
1615 New Hampshire Ave. NW, First Floor
Washington, D.C., 20009-2520
Phone Number: 202.628.8410
kmurphy@alawash.org

Take action for libraries! Visit our Legislative Action Center athttp://bit.ly/legaction

GLMA Legislative Alert: Expenditure Control Waiver Bill Hearing Tomorrow!

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The House Education Academic Support Subcommittee will meet tomorrow, Tuesday, February 15 at 2:00 p.m. to hear HB 172, legislation that would extend the expenditure control waivers through 2015.

To review HB 172, CLICK HERE.

Contact members of the Subcommittee today.

  • Explain how expenditure controls for media center costs support student education and why it would be detrimental to the students in your school if the waiver is extended through 2015.
  • Currently, systems can receive expenditure control waivers through the 2012-13 school year.  HB 172 extends this waiver for two additional years.  Ask legislators why this extension is necessary now, in 2011.
  • Explain how media center materials are used to support the science and math curriculums.
  • Provide data on the age of your media center materials, and note how old your collections will be in 2015.

If you are able to attend the committee hearing tomorrow and would like to testify on the bill, please let us know as soon as possible so we can coordinate your trip to the Capitol.

Members of the House Education Academic Support Subcommittee
Rep. Randy Nix, Chair - EMAIL
Rep. Ann Purcell, Vice Chair/Secretary - EMAIL
Rep. Paul Battles - EMAIL
Rep. Tommy Benton - EMAIL
Rep. Amy Carter - EMAIL
Rep. David Casas - EMAIL
Rep. Brooks Coleman, House Ed. Chair - EMAIL
Rep. Tom Dickson - EMAIL
Rep. Hugh Floyd - EMAIL
Rep. Wayne Howard - EMAIL
Rep. Margaret Kaiser - EMAIL
Rep. Willie Talton - EMAIL
Rep. Andy Welch - EMAIL

Stay tuned…
Lasa Joiner and Michelle Crider

February 7 Legislative Update: Good News for GALILEO and What’s Next

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The House Appropriations Education Subcommittee members voted to reinstate the funding for GALILEO in the FY 2011 supplemental budget. This means the subcommittee will recommend funding GALILEO to the full House Appropriations Committee.

What’s next for GALILEO funding in the FY 2011 supplemental budget?

  • The House Appropriations Committee will vote on the FY11 budget on Wednesday, February 9th.
  • The House will vote on the FY11 budget – date TBD.
  • The FY 11 budget then moves to the Senate for action.  The Senate Appropriations Education Subcommittee has already started discussions on the FY11 budget.

ACTION:

1.  Please take a moment to thank the members of the House Appropriations Education Subcommittee for their recommendation to reinstate the GALILEO funds.  You can remind them you would like their support of GALILEO funding again in the FY 2012 budget.

Rep. Tom Dickson, Chair - EMAIL
Rep. Rick Austin, Secretary - EMAIL
Rep. Amos Amerson - EMAIL
Rep. Kathy Ashe - EMAIL
Rep. Amy Carter - EMAIL
Rep. David Casas - EMAIL
Rep. Brooks Coleman - EMAIL
Rep. Jan Jones - EMAIL
Rep. Margaret Kaiser - EMAIL
Rep. Howard Maxwell - EMAIL
Rep. Jay Neal - EMAIL

2.  Email members of the House Appropriations Committee requesting they adopt the Education Subcommittee recommendation to reinstate GALILEO funding in the FY11 budget.  Committee members can be found HERE.  For a list of House email addresses, click HERE.  The Chair of the committee is Rep. Terry England - EMAIL

3.  Continue to reach out to the Senate members.  Encourage them to reinstate GALILEO funds in the FY11 and FY12 budgets.  Don’t forget to send student examples!

Sen. Bill Heath, Chair - EMAIL
Sen. Tommie Williams, Vice Chair - EMAIL
Sen. John Bulloch - EMAIL
Sen. Jack Murphy - EMAIL
Sen. Chip Rogers - EMAIL
Sen. Horacena Tate - EMAIL
Sen. Jack Hill, Senate Appropriations Chair - EMAIL
Sen. Fran Millar, Senate Education Chair - EMAIL

We will let you know the outcome of the House Appropriations Committee vote on the FY11 budget later this week.  Stay tuned…

Lasa Joiner and Michelle Crider

 

New GLMA Legislative Alerts and Updates

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**  GLMA Legislative Alert  **

State budget woes continue to impact the underlying theme of legislation, including newly introduced House Bill (HB) 172 by House Education Chairman Rep. Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth).

HB 172 extends the flexibility legislation that allows local systems to waive expenditure controls on media center costs, professional development, and costs related to direct instruction through the 2014-2015 school year.  This bill also extends the maximum school size waivers and deadline for tendering teacher contracts to May 15th through the 2014-2015 school year.  This bill has not yet been assigned to a committee, but we presume it will be assigned to the House Education Committee next week.  Committee members can be found HERE.

GALILEO Update

The House Appropriations Committee continues to work on the FY 2011 supplemental budget.  The committee is scheduled to meet next Wednesday, February 9th to pass the budget, which will then move to the full House for a vote.

The Senate Appropriations Education Subcommittee met this week to discuss the FY 11 budget, and will schedule additional meetings in the coming weeks to discuss both the FY 11 and FY 12 budgets.

Continue to encourage House and Senate Appropriations Education Committee members to keep funds in place for GALILEO in the FY 11 supplemental and FY 12 budgets.  Again, focus your message on how students use and benefit from GALILEO and why it cannot be replaced by search engines like Google and GoodSearch.  Encourage your colleagues and students parents to contact legislators on the issue, too.

Senate Appropriations Education Subcommittee Members

Sen. Bill Heath, Chair - EMAIL

Sen. Tommie Williams, Vice Chair - EMAIL

Sen. John Bulloch - EMAIL

Sen. Jack Murphy - EMAIL

Sen. Chip Rogers - EMAIL

Sen. Horacena Tate - EMAIL

Sen. Jack Hill, Senate Appropriations Chair - EMAIL

Sen. Fran Millar, Senate Education Chair - EMAIL

House Appropriations Education Subcommittee Members
Rep. Tom Dickson, Chair - EMAIL
Rep. Rick Austin, Secretary - EMAIL
Rep. Amos Amerson - EMAIL
Rep. Kathy Ashe - EMAIL
Rep. Amy Carter - EMAIL
Rep. David Casas - EMAIL
Rep. Brooks Coleman - EMAIL
Rep. Jan Jones - EMAIL
Rep. Margaret Kaiser - EMAIL
Rep. Howard Maxwell - EMAIL
Rep. Jay Neal - EMAIL

Rep. Terry England, House Appropriations Chair - EMAIL

Until next week, stay tuned…

Lasa Joiner

Michelle Crider

Google, Galileo and Cougars, Oh My!

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Mrs. Powell, I thought a cougar was an animal!

When the information hit the GLMA blog that Supt. Barge suggested that Galileo was ‘nice but not necessary’, and did not include funding for Galileo in his budget presentation, my first thought was about what most elementary students cut their research teeth on: animals! So I did a search for cougar in Google and in my results list there was not an animal is sight… at least not the 4-legged ones our 2nd graders are looking for!

This is my letter to Supt. Barge and to my representatives. My example was a direct copy and paste – no editing to illustrate my point. I suspect others may have examples to share also.

“Dear Superintendent Barge,

I received information that in your budget presentation to committees Galileo was not funded. Please, as an elementary school library media specialist let me beg you to reconsider!

 Again and again – as you know – education and educators bear the brunt of budget cuts. Galileo is a tool that provides our entire state with authoritative databases! Do we really and truly want all of our students and citizens to rely on Google or Bing as their authoritative on line tools? They are commercial search engines! The value of Galileo is beyond dollars; losing it is giving carte blanche to all students and citizens to become informed people based on which commercial group pays the most to become first in the search results list!

 In elementary schools animal research is a very common beginning search lesson. I just typed ‘cougar’ into Google and here are my unedited results:

Cougars on the Prowl 

Older Women Seek Young Studs Message & View Profiles Free!

mycougarfling.com

Cougars For Younger Men 

It’s Easy, Join Now for Free and Meet A Cougar in Your Area Tonight.

www.cougars.net

Cougar Life 

Where Sophisticated Cougars Meet Younger Men. As seen on ABC & NBC

cougarlife.com

Search Results

Urban Dictionary: cougar 

 7 posts – 7 authors – Last post: Feb 17, 2010

An older woman who frequents clubs in order to score with a much younger man. The cougar can be anyone from an overly surgically altered …

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cougar – Cached – Similar

Get more discussion results

Cougar – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 

 The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as puma, mountain lion, mountain cat, catamount or panther, depending on the region, is a mammal of the family …

Cougar (disambiguation) – North American Cougar

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar – Cached – Similar

Age disparity in sexual relationships – Wikipedia, the free … 

 ”New Study Claims No Cougar Trend, Dating Websites Attempt To Show …

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_disparity_in_sexual_relationships – Cached – Similar

This is real life in our schools! Is this really where we want to take our elementary students? REALLY?

Without access to authoritative databases this is exactly what will happen. And who knows what will be next in pop culture? While searching for ‘bear’ it’s one thing to guide children between information for bears the mammal and bears the football team, but do I really want to guide them through bear is a common word in gay culture? That is the 2nd hit I get in Google in my search of bears.

Please, please, reconsider this recommendation. Google and Bing are great commercial search engines but they are not expert sources for academic use. As the highest elected proponent of solid education in our state please recognize these valuable tools in education… for the WHOLE STATE!”

Martha Powell

Library Media Specialist, Roswell North Elementary School

This entry was posted in Uncategorized

Important GLMA Legislative Alert: Advocating for GALILEO

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The House Appropriations Education Subcommittee will be making final decisions on the FY 2011 supplemental budget as early as next week.  As you know, the GALILEO contract for K-12 is in jeopardy.
Legislators need to know how the loss of GALILEO will impact students. To save the program, we need you to send a very specific message to members of the subcommittee.  They need to know:
  • How students use GALILEO
  • What information students can find on GALILEO
  • How Google or other commercial search engines cannot replace GALILEO if K-12 no longer has access to it’s databases
Do not send messages to legislators explaining how teachers use GALILEO or how it is beneficial to your work in the school. Focus your message on how students use and benefit from GALILEO.
House Appropriations Education Subcommittee Members
Rep. Tom Dickson – Chair - EMAIL
Rep. Rick Austin – Secretary - EMAIL
Rep. Amos Amerson - EMAIL
Rep. Kathy Ashe - EMAIL
Rep. Amy Carter - EMAIL
Rep. David Casas - EMAIL
Rep. Brooks Coleman - EMAIL
Rep. Jan Jones - EMAIL
Rep. Margaret Kaiser - EMAIL
Rep. Howard Maxwell - EMAIL
Rep. Jay Neal - EMAIL

Michelle Crider
JLH Consulting
2711 Irvin Way, Suite 111
Decatur, GA 30030

Buffy Hamilton, GLMA Communications Chair