Policy Handbook and Issues Paper

Administrative Policies Handbook  Running head: POLICIES

Administrative Policies Handbook and Issues Paper 

Kimberly Exley

FRIT 7132 Dr. Repman December 1, 2008

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Administrative Policies Handbook 

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Administrative Policies Handbook and Issues Paper 

Media Center Policy

Strengths

Changes Needed or New Policy Needed

of  Policy

Accountability for  Media Equipment and Materials IFBD–Media Centers Revised 10/16/2003

Criteria for Media Selection

IFBD – Media Centers Revised 10/16/2003

Copyright compliance

IFBD-Media Centers Revised 10/16/2003

School  None needed  personnel as well as students are held accountab le for lost or  damaged equipmen t or  materials. Acknowledges The present policy is extremely vague. The website here gives the need extensive selection tips based on the ideas in Information in Information  Power. for a curriculu http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/office/admin/selection.html m that changes with the needs of  the students. Acknowle dges the need for  resources in various formats. Distinctly The present policy states that there will be one person in each states that school who is responsible for disseminating current copyright the school information to everyone there and for obtaining copyright district clearance before works are used. This is a huge responsibility will abide for one person. This needs to be changed so that this  by all responsibility does not fall on a single person. The policy also copyright does not state specifically who this person should be at each and fair  school. use laws and

Administrative Policies Handbook  disciplina ry action will be used for  those who willfully disregard these laws. Disposal of Media States that Equipment/Hardwar  outdated e or  damaged IFBD-Media Centers media Revised 10/16/2003 materials, computer  s, or   peripheral s will be discarded with the approval of the school media committe e and in accordanc e with local, state, and federal guidelines and restriction s. Reconsideration of  Policy challenged materials includes a specific IFBD – Media  procedure Centers for  Revised 10/16/2003 Handling challenges to  books or other  media including

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An example of one school system’s copyright compliance policy, which seems thorough and reliable can be found at http://www.schoolunion44.org/PolicyOnline/E/EGAD.pdf 

 None needed

 None needed – this seems to be the most thorough of all media center policies.

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notification of  the school  principal and school board if necessary. Access to Inappropriate Material

IFBGE-Internet Safety Adopted 7/20/2006

School Volunteers IFCD Adopted 1/15/2004

Student Fees, Fines, and Charges JS Revised 12/10/2003

States that filters may  be used to  block or  filter  inappropri ate online informatio n. Staff  may disable or  minimize  protection for  research  purposes.

This policy should be updated to allow for minimized protection for classroom teachers who would like to use blocked features for instructional purposes. For example, many educational videos and other websites that include videos, music, and imagery that would enhance classroom and media center  lessons are blocked by filters.

Regulates and holds school volunteer  s to the same rules and  policies as employee s States that the school may charge students a reasonabl e fee for  lost or  damaged materials and that the  principal may file suit to recover a

Unfortunately, Unfortunately, in today’s today’s environment, safety is always an issue. This policy should be updated to ensure that school volunteers have undergone some type of background check before being allowed to work with our children. One such policy can be viewed at http://www.brentwood.k12.mo.us/District/volunteers.htm

The current policy is a broad policy p olicy encompassing any fees that a student may incur including all academic areas, sports, clubs, media center, parking fees, etc. The policy needs to be revised to handle fees on a more individualized basis. For example, an overdue book fine may only be a couple of dollars while  band fees may be hundreds h undreds of dollars. These should be settled differently.

Administrative Policies Handbook 

Accessibility for  Students with Disabilities

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claim if  necessary  No current  New policy needs to be added that addresses the technological  policy needs of students with disabilities. With With a few simple exists modifications to computers and other technology, these students will be able to navigate school and media center  websites, research online, and use print and other electronic media more easily and efficiently. All of these modifications will empower them with new skills thus making them more independent and information literate learners. (This issue is discussed in more detail in the following issues paper topic.)

Making School Web Pages and Other Technology Accessible To Students with Disabilities School library media centers must develop and abide by an array of policies regarding issues from fines to Internet safety and acceptable use to selection and removal of media materials. Upon reviewing the relevant media cen ter policies for schools within my county, I discovered that there is a lack of policies dealing with accessibility for students with disabilities. These are technological times, and many computer-centered tasks that most students perform readily can often be challenging for students with visual, hearing, or other disabilities. However,

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with a few simple modifications, these students can also enjoy the full benefits of today’s technology. Many schools today are choosing to use a school web page, teacher WebPages, and media center WebPages to keep parents and students informed of school activities, assignments, and upcoming events. Many of these pages even offer information and links that lead to other  educational sites and sources. These WebPages can be great assets to students when the students are able to read and navigate them. Sadly, this is not always the case for a student with a disability. Section 508 of the 1998 Rehabilitation Act amendmen ts that took effect on June 25, 2 5, 2001 states the following guidelines for the web: •

Text tags – A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided.

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Multimedia Presentations – Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall  be synchronized with the presentation. This is usually done with captions.

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Color – Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color.

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Readability – Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.

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Flicker Rate – Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.

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Time Delays – When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required (Robertson, 2002).

Media specialists, teachers, and other school personnel should keep these (as well as the amendment’s additional guidelines) in mind while designing school WebPages. Any time a school district delves into an issue and makes attempts to update technology,

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there is always the question of cost. Many technological updates are quite pricey and media center budgets simply do not allow for them to happen quickly. This isn’t the case with many of  the assistive devices required to make computer u se easier for students with disabilities. “The  biggest area for concern is making Web sites more accessible to the visually impaired. With the help of devices known as text readers, such people can experience much of what is on the Web” (Walsh, 2001). “Low-tech devices are electronic but do not include highly sophisticated sophisticated computer components, such as an electronic voice-recording device” (Behrmann, 2002). “For individuals whose motor problems allow them to use a mouse or touch screen better than a keyboard, onscreen keyboards can allow them to write” (Robertson, 2002). All of the devices mentioned here are relatively low priced and can be easily adapted to school media center  computers. Media specialists who design websites for their school media centers “not only have  pragmatic reasons to make their Web sites accessible to p eople with disabilities, they also have legal obligations to do so” (Walsh, 2001). Tho se same media specialists also have a responsibility to students with disabilities to ensure that they feel that the school media center is a place where they can enhance their information literacy skills without boundaries and frustrations. They need to feel empowered in the media center, to know that when they enter the media center, they can go to a computer and work independently. The media specialist should also be an advocate for students with special needs, addressing this issue to other school  personnel and making sure that teachers are familiar with the tools and modifications that are in  place to assist these students. “With a little effort and awareness we can make sure that computers and the Web provide quality information and education for everyone” (Robertson, 2002).

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Administrative Policies Handbook  References Behrmann, Michael & Jerome, Marci Kinas. (2002, January). ERIC Digest. Assistive Digest. Assistive Technology  for Students with Mild Disabilities: Update 2002. 2002. Retrieved November 25, 2008, from http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-1/assistive.htm Walsh, M. (2001). Schools on the Web Face a Tangle of Legal Issues. Education  Education Week, 24, 12. Robertson, Janna Siegel. (2002). Making Online Information Accessible to Students with Disabilities. The Technology Source, July/August.

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