EveryLibrary ESSA Work a Top 10 Story of 2016

Thanks to Publishers Weekly for identifying the work we are doing with state school library organizations on their ESSA Implementation Planning negotiations as a Top 10 Library Story of 2016:

And in order for school libraries to gain the full benefit of federal funding available under ESSA, each state will have to modify its existing education laws, administrative codes, and other rules and regulations to make them ESSA-compliant and grant-ready—no easy feat, says John Chrastka, executive director library lobby group, EveryLibrary. In fact, after so many years of getting no federal support at all, many state and local education agencies lack even the most basic legislative language, he told PW.

That’s why, with financial support from Rosen Publishing and help from other library organizations, EveryLibrary stepped up to help in 2016. With EveryLibrary’s significant experience helping library ballot measures succeed at the local level, EveryLibrary in 2016 is continuing to help library advocates across the country with state-specific, proven tactics for supporting school libraries—and thanks to Rosen and other library groups, that help is completely free.

Each state will be submitting an ESSA Implementation Plan to the U.S. Department of Education by April 2017 for the school year beginning August 2017. In order for school libraries to gain the full benefit of federal funding available under ESSA, each state will have to modify their existing education rules and regulations to make them “ESSA-compliant and grant-ready." EveryLibrary is working with 18 state school library organizations on a tactical approach to include libraries and librarians in that re-write. You can click through to the policy work for many of those states on our ESSA Calendar.