Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives passed a new federal education bill, the Every Student Succeeds Act. This is good news for youth and libraries, but the process isn’t over yet. The next step is for the Senate to discuss it and vote on it on Wed. Dec. 9th. We need library staff, advocates, EVERYBODY to contact their Senators by Wed. morning and ask them to vote yes on this bill.
How you can help
- Call, email or Tweet your Senators to let them know how essential this bill is to our children’s education and futures. To find out who your rep 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
- Contact absolutely everyone you know, ask them to do the same thing and share the above link and these sample messages with them:
Messaging for a phone call to your Senators’ offices:
I’m calling to ask Senator [insert Senator’s name] to vote yes on the Every Student Succeeds Act, as passed by the House. It includes critical language about effective school library programs and their critical role in helping students succeed in school and prepare for 21st century careers. Thank you!
Messaging for an email:
Dear Senator [insert Senator’s name]:
As you know, the vote for the Every Student Succeeds Act Conference Report is scheduled for Dec. 9. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to vote YES on the bill as passed by the House on Wed., because it includes critical language about effective school library programs and their vital role in helping students succeed in school and prepare for 21st century careers. Thank you for supporting our nation’s youth by voting in favor of this legislation. If you are ever in need of a venue for an event, or would like to visit a library to see how we are helping young people achieve more in school and prepare for tomorrow’s work force, you are more than welcome to visit my library.
Sincerely,
[insert your name & contact info]
Messaging for a Tweet
[insert Senator’s Twitter handle] vote yes on #ESSA! It incl key wording about #SchoolLibraries, which play a key role in helping youth get #FutureReady
Thank you! For more information, read this post from American Libraries as well as this letter (.pdf) that ALA sent to the House yesterday.
