Meeting of the Board of Regents | December 2008

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	Cultural Education Committee
FROM:	Jeffrey W. Cannell
SUBJECT:	Amendment to Section 90.18 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to School Library Systems
DATE:	December 1, 2008
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 2-5
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

              Should the Board of Regents amend section 90.18 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education to update and clarify certain terms relating to the functions of and State aid for school library systems?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

              Review of policy and required by State statute.

 

Proposed Handling

 

              The proposed amendment will be submitted to the Cultural Education Committee for adoption at the December 2008 Regents meeting.

 

Procedural History

 

              N/A

 

 

 

 

Background Information

 

The proposed amendment is necessary to update and clarify certain terminology relating to school library systems in BOCES and the Big Five city school districts.  Specifically, the proposed rule amends certain terminology relating to the functions of school library systems to accurately reflect current operations of such library systems and to omit references to obsolete practices and terms.  The proposed rule also amends certain terms relating to State aid for school library systems to accurately reflect the legislative intent of Education Law §284.   In 2005, Education Law §284 was technically amended to accurately reflect the legislative intent of such statute.  This proposed amendment will conform the Commissioner’s Regulations to such changes.  

 

Additionally, the proposed amendment conforms certain terms relating to school library systems to other, corresponding provisions of the Commissioner’s Regulations.  Particularly, the proposed rule amends the definition of a “coordinator of a school library system” to clarify that such a coordinator must possess a valid certificate as either a school administrator and supervisor (S.A.S.) or a school building leader (S.B.L.) in accordance with Part 80 of the Commissioner’s Regulations.  Moreover, the amendment is necessary to uniformly apply the title of “Communications Coordinator” to persons serving such role in both BOCES and the Big Five city school districts and to more accurately describe the role of such persons, which is to effectuate two-way communication between districts and school library systems.

 

Supporting materials for the proposed amendment are available upon request from the Secretary to the Board of Regents.  A Notice of Proposed Rule Making was published in the State Register on October 15, 2008.  The last day for receipt of public comment was December 1, 2008.  No comments were received.

 

Recommendation

 

              Staff recommend that the Board of Regents take the following action:

 

              VOTED:  That section 90.18 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended, as submitted, effective January 8, 2009.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

              If adopted at the December 2008 Regents meeting, the proposed amendment will become effective on January 8, 2009. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMENDMENT OF SECTION 90.18 OF THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION

              Pursuant to sections 207, 215, 282, 283, and 284 of the Education Law.

              Section 90.18 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective January 8, 2009, as follows:

§90.18 School library systems.

              (a)  Definitions.  (1)  The term school library system as used in this section means:

              (i) .  .  .

              (ii) .  .  .

              (2) .  .  .

              (3) .  .  .

              (4) .  .  .

(5)  For the purpose of determining eligibility for State aid to a school library system pursuant to section 284 of the Education Law, enrollment means the total number of pupils enrolled in the schools [of members of] in a school library system service area on the first day of October of the base year, as    defined in section 3602 (1)(b) of the Education Law.

                            (6) .  .  .

(7) Coordinator of a school library system means a certified school library media specialist with a minimum of three [years’] years employment as a school library media specialist and possessing a valid school administrator and supervisor (S.A.S.) certificate or a valid school building leader (S.B.L.) certificate in accordance with [section 80.4(b)] Part 80 of this Title.

                            (b) Governance.  (1) The board of cooperative educational services or the board of education of the city school district shall be the governing board of the school library system.  In the case of a school library system serving a combination of BOCES and/or city school districts, one BOCES or city school district shall be designated as the official administrative agency.  Each such board shall appoint members to the [first] school library system council, including nonpublic school representation, shall act as fiscal agent, and shall submit the plan of service to the commissioner for approval.

(2) School library system council.  (i)  Each school library system shall have a school library system council, which shall meet at least four times a year. Such school library system council shall be composed of at least nine members, and shall include representatives of the members in the school library system and other representatives of providers and users of library services in the school library system. The plan of service shall specify the method of appointment of the school library system council. The school library system council members shall serve three-year terms [, provided that first members of each school library system council shall be appointed for terms of from one to three years so that] and shall be appointed in a manner as to provide that, as nearly as possible, one third of the members of the council shall [thereafter] be appointed each year.  A vacancy on the school library system council shall be filled by the governing board for the duration of the term of the individual whose seat on the council is to be filled. Members shall serve without compensation.

(ii) .  .  .

              (c) Plan of service.  (1) Content. A BOCES or board of education of an eligible city school district, or combination of BOCES and/or eligible city school districts, seeking funding as a school library system shall submit to the commissioner a plan of service approved by the school library system council in the form prescribed by him or her.  The plan shall include, but not be limited to: 

              (i) .  .  .

              (ii) .  .  .

              (iii) .  .  .

              (iv) .  .  .

              (v) .  .  .

              (vi) .  .  .

              (vii) .  .  .

              (viii) .  .  .

              (ix) .  .  .

              (x) .  .  .

              (xi) .  .  .

              (xii) .  .  .

              (xiii) .  .  .

(xiv) a description of the responsibilities of [district liaisons and, in city school district systems, of] the [communication] communications coordinators representing the member public school districts and nonpublic schools.

(2) .  .  . 

(3) Revision. The plan of service of each school library system shall be effective for a period of five years. Subsequent revisions thereof shall be filed no later than April 30th for implementation in the school year beginning the following July 1st. [The plan of service shall include a statement that the chief school officer of each member has been made aware of the plan of service and any subsequent revision(s) in writing.] Plans and revisions shall be approved by the council, the governing body and the commissioner.

(d) System staffing.  Each school library system shall employ a full-time coordinator of the school library system.  School library systems, or combinations thereof, with the enrollment of 200,000 students or more, shall employ at least an additional 0.5 full-time equivalent certified school library media specialist for each additional 100,000 students, or major fraction thereof, to assist the coordinator in designated school library system activities.  At least one full-time clerical staff member shall be assigned to each coordinator.  Other professional and support staff members shall be employed as necessary to execute school library system functions.  The adequacy of the staff in relation to the plan of service activities shall be determined by the commissioner.

(e) Functions of the system coordinator.  The school library system coordinator will be responsible for the following aspects of the school library system, including but not limited to:

(1) .  .  .

(2) .  .  .

(3) .  .  .

(4) .  .  .

(5) ongoing communications with the [district liaisons or, in the city school districts, the] communications coordinators, with the school library system council, and with other school or community personnel or agencies;

(6) .  .  .

(7) planning periodic meetings between the school library system council and [liaisons or] the communications coordinators [in the city school districts];

(8) serving as advisor to member school library media [centers] staff, [and] school districts and nonpublic schools on program development and improvement and assisting with development and updating of members' plans developed pursuant to paragraph (f)(4) of this section;

(9) .  .  .

(10) .  .  .

(11) .  .  .

(12) .  .  .

(13) preparing annually a budget application, on forms prescribed by the commissioner, to be approved by the school library system council and governing board, and such budget shall be filed with the department no later than April 30th of each year for approval and release of State aid in the next school year.

(f) Membership. (1) All school districts and nonpublic schools, located within a BOCES supervisory district which has established a school library system, shall be eligible for membership in such school library system, provided that each such member shall designate a certified school library media specialist as the [liaison] communications coordinator to the school library system. The [liaison] communications coordinator shall implement the procedures to be followed in the district, within the general guidelines and procedures determined by the school library system, regarding data collection for union lists, cooperative collection development, other system requirements, intra-district and inter-district loan requests, and necessary reports. The [liaison] communications coordinator shall keep other school library media specialists and staff of the members informed of school library system policies, procedures, activities and services. Time to perform [liaison] communications coordinator duties shall be provided by the member district or nonpublic school. The [liaison] communications coordinator shall have an outside telephone line, telefacsimile, [microcomputer] computer with internet access and e-mail [, modem by June 30, 1999] and access to photoduplication facilities.

(2) [In the city school district of the City of New York, each community school district and borough superintendent for high schools, and the division of special education, shall designate a licensed teacher of library as communications coordinator to assist in liaison activities between the school library system staff and the school library media centers in the district.]  Within school library systems established by the city school districts of New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers, a certified school library media specialist shall be designated as communications coordinator to the school library system from each zone, representative area or other internal subdivision of the city school district used for school organization as designated in the plan of service. Nonpublic school members shall designate a representative to serve as communications coordinator between such nonpublic school members and the school library system.

(3) Each member school district and nonpublic school of a school library system shall permit the interlibrary loan of books and other library materials to other members of the school library system or members of other systems with which the school library system has reciprocal agreements, except for materials not otherwise loaned by such member.

(4) Member plan.  At least once during the five-year period of each plan of service, each member school district and nonpublic school member, and in New York City [each community school district and high school district] any internal subdivision of the city school district used for school organization, shall file with the system a plan which shows how district and building library resources and programs meet the needs of students and teachers and describes the ways in which it proposes to make effective use of the system. Such plan shall include:

(i) .  .  .

(ii) .  .  .

(iii) .  .  .

(iv) .  .  .

(5) .  .  .

(6) Each school library system member shall provide school library system personnel access to the [shelf lists] bibliographic records of its school library media centers for purposes of creating and maintaining a school library system union catalog.

(g) [Maintenance of effort. A member of the school library system shall be eligible to participate in a school library system if, effective in 1986-87 and thereafter, its expenditure for school library materials, as reported in its annual financial report, is not less on a per capita basis in the preceding fiscal year than it was in the second preceding fiscal year. Approval may be granted for a variance from the requirements of this paragraph upon a finding that exceptional circumstances make compliance with such requirements infeasible.

(h)] Reports. [Each] By September 30th of each year, each school library system shall transmit to the department [annually, by September 30th, a] an annual report for the year ending [the previous] on June 30th of the previous school year, in such form as shall be prescribed by the commissioner, and such other progress reports as may be required by the commissioner.  Such annual report shall include an evaluation by participants and shall be approved by the department.