Pinellas teachers will be paid up to three hours at their hourly rate if they perform scanning outside of their contractual hours. In elementary schools, where every classroom is expected to have a library, a single scanner might not be enough, and iPads can be used instead. At Pinellas Park High, that scanner can be passed among the eight to 10 teachers who have classroom libraries, Brengle said. The district has provided a single USB scanner to each school to conduct this inventory. “Overnight, we suddenly became responsible for classroom libraries, the content of those, not just the process, but what was actually in those libraries,” she said. Initially, they were supposed to serve as facilitators, helping teachers as needed, but now their role is more prominent. Ginger Brengle, Pinellas Park High School media specialist, said it wasn’t always that way. Materials must also be age appropriate for the grade level.įamiliar childhood stories of Froggy, Clifford and Franklin that Stephens brought into her classroom are scanned into a digital database for review by a media specialist and, eventually, access to parents.Ĭlassroom libraries are treated the same as school libraries and under the supervision of the schools’ media specialists. Material that could violate community standards, or be considered instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, or might describe a person as “inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive” is not allowed. The law took effect in January.įresh Take Florida Children's books line the shelves at the Alachua County Public Library in Gainesville.īooks must also comply with the Parental Rights in Education Act, derided by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. It requires each book in a school library to be certified by a media specialist and for a list of these materials to be available on school websites. The law, governing instructional materials for classes from kindergarten to 12th grade, passed last year and holds school districts responsible for the content of all materials used in a classroom, made available in a school library or included on a reading list.

Similar scenes are playing out across Florida. This process must be completed by May 26 and is required to comply with state law. Especially when they’re younger, they go through so many books,” Stephens said.Īt the end of the year, when state testing looms and class lists need to be made for fall, Pinellas County Schools is requiring its teachers to scan every book in their classroom libraries for school media specialists to review. “I don’t think people truly understand how many books are in our classroom libraries. Your generous support ensures that this trusted public news service is accessible to all, no matter what.

John stephens the books of beginning