We Need YOUR Voice

ALA Washington Office shares:

We did it!

After ten years of advocacy, thousands of emails, hundreds of calls and scores of meetings last night the House of Representatives passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), school libraries included! Thank you to everyone who made calls, sent emails, posted Tweets, and sent our alert out to their contacts and listservs. After years of needing reform to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), we are on the cusp of getting it and we couldn't have done it without you.

But we’re not there yet!

The House voted to approve the Every Student Succeeds Act and now it’s the Senate’s turn. Please, take a moment on two vital actions:

1. Contact your Senators to let them know how essential this bill is to our children’s education and futures.  
2. Contact absolutely everyone you know and ask them to do the same thing.

An overview of the library provisions found in the Every Student Succeeds Act can be found here.

 To find out who your Senator is & what their contact information is, visit this ALA page & type in your zip code in the box on the right side of the page

Talking points 

• Vote Yes on the Every Student Succeeds Act Conference Report.
• School libraries are critical to our children’s future and the Conference Report includes critical language to support effective school library programs.
• This language is historic: For the first time in half a century Congress has underscored the importance of effective school library programs by expressly including them in multiple parts of this watershed reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Everyday Advocates, let's go!!