Information Policy Topics
TEACH Act
The TEACH acronym stands for “Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization.” This act was part of legislation signed into law by President Bush in November of 2002. The TEACH Act is meant to clarify how copyright law applies to materials used for the purpose of distance education. Any work by an author, artist, musician or other creator of content is protected by copyright law, giving the creator ownership of the work and the right to copy, perform and distribute it. Since 1976, the Copyright Act has allowed educators to use copyright protected materials in classrooms. It allowed copying works for instructional and student use and the performance or display of works without penalty. This act applied specifically to face to face learning in a classroom setting and needed to be modified for instances of distance learning.
Since distance learning is web-based, materials for classes need to be digitized if they do not already exist in that form and posted online for students to access. The TEACH Act allows accredited, non-profit, educational institutions to digitize works as needed and to transmit them to any location (student computers, wherever they may be) not just to a classroom. Institutions are allowed to store the works used in distance education but according to the law, students should only have access to copyrighted materials for a limited time and will not be able to store them for later use. Copyrighted works used for a specific class can only be made available to students registered in that class, no others.
The law stipulates that these benefits only apply to government bodies or accredited, nonprofit educational institutions as determined by agencies recognized by the United States Department of Education and that these institutions must provide materials that describe United States copyright law to students and staff. The TEACH Act also requires that instructors use copyrighted works for educational purposes only and are not allowed to transmit works which would be typically purchased by a student (textbooks, for example.)
The TEACH Act does not mention librarians but it can impact their work. These laws can affect librarians as they gather information for a university’s classes or help students enrolled in online courses access information from different sources.
This topic is interesting to me because I am using distance education to earn my degree in Library Science. The University needs to be aware of these laws so my instructors can lawfully share materials over the Internet that they feel are necessary for my education. I would not want my access to information to be less than what students in a traditional classroom setting would have. As a librarian I will also need to be familiar with the TEACH Act if I am helping instructors set up programs or helping students access information.
CIPA
CIPA, the Children’s Internet Protection Act, is a federal law enacted in 2001 meant to prevent children from viewing offensive material over the Internet on school or library computers. The law requires any school or library that receives federal funds from E-rate – a program that makes communication technology more affordable – to follow certain rules. The institutions receiving these funds must block or filter every computer workstation for Internet sites that feature pictures that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors. They must also have an Internet safety policy for minors in place regarding access to inappropriate matter, security of electronic communications, unlawful activity, unauthorized disclosure of personal information and restricting access to harmful materials. Schools are also required to have a policy to monitor online activities of minors. Institutions must certify that these measures are in place before they can receive E-rate funding.
The 2001 CIPA law was challenged by the American Library Association on the grounds that the filtering of computers is unconstitutional in that it blocks the access to free speech. The ALA won this challenge in a lower court but the Supreme Court overturned the decision in 2003. The Court ruled that because libraries set up Internet connections for learning and entertainment, not as a public forum, and that the filters can be disabled at adult patron’s requests, the law does not hinder the First Amendment.
CIPA is relevant to me as a parent and a library patron. As a parent it is important to me to know my children will not come across any inappropriate images on the computer. I do have Google filtered for images but our computer itself does not have any blocks on it. We have never had a problem at home with surprise images coming up since only specific sites are visited. When my children are under the care of the school system I would expect them to be protected from obscene materials, and do not object to filtering school computers, at least until high school age. I would hope for some supervision even at that age to ensure all materials serve an educational purpose but do not think filters are necessary for high school students. In the public library I do not see the need to filter or block Internet sites. Children should always be supervised around computers and it is an imposition for adult patrons to have to request that filters be disabled. It is unfortunate that institutions have to choose between receiving much needed funding and providing unfettered access.
NCLB Act
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a federal law enacted in 2002 that affects schools from kindergarten through high school. The law is a reauthorization of earlier legislation called the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. There are four main principles to the NCLB Act:
Accountability for Results
States and school districts must provide an annual report card to communities detailing progress in achieving state standards, measured by mandatory testing in grades three through eight. Schools that do not show progress must correct deficiencies, provide extra instruction to students and possibly change the way the school is run.
Choices for Parents
Parents of children in schools that do not meet state standards for two years in a row can transfer to a better public school within their district. Students may also transfer from a school that is shown to be dangerous or violent. Districts must provide transportation to these new schools.
Flexibility and Local Control
NCLB allows states and districts to choose how to use federal education funds based on their individual needs.
Teaching Using Proven Methods
The act encourages and provides funding for schools to implement practices that have been shown by scientific research to be effective.
Although the act emphasizes the importance of reading it does not provide specific funding for the enhancement of school libraries, nor does it mention the role of librarians in supporting literacy. The position of the American Library Association is that the act should be amended to include standards for school libraries and the funding to meet those standards.
This act affects me as a parent, taxpayer and future librarian. We all want our schools to be the best they can be and holding teachers and administrators accountable for the performance of students seems like a good idea. The reality is that many districts will not have the funding to implement the programs they need to help them meet standards. It is shortsighted of the government to leave school libraries out of the act. Librarians are a valuable resource for teachers who need help designing and enhancing curriculum and high quality school library collections are essential for the development of life long readers.