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Committee expands Teacher of the Year eligibility to include librarians and counselors
Summary
The committee approved House Bill 1319 to allow librarians and school counselors to be eligible for Arkansas Teacher of the Year, following testimony from the Teacher of the Year coordinator and brief committee discussion about waivers and staffing.
The Senate Education Committee considered House Bill 1319, presented by the Department of Education and supported in committee testimony by Megan Abels, the 2016 Arkansas Teacher of the Year and now coordinator of the Teacher of the Year program at ADE. Abels said that state law previously excluded library media specialists and counselors from eligibility and that national practice permits those roles to compete.
"I was able to see firsthand the amazing work going on in our libraries across the state," Abels said, and she urged the committee to recognize that librarians and counselors ‘‘deserve to be a teacher of the year as well." Committee members asked whether expanding eligibility could inadvertently encourage districts to remove certified librarians; Abels and others said certified staff remain preferred and that the measure is intended to elevate, not demote, those roles.
No members of the public requested to speak against the bill. The committee voted by voice to pass House Bill 1319 to the next stage.
The bill changes statutory eligibility for the program; implementation will be handled by the Department of Education in its Teacher of the Year administration.
