Testimony to the State Board of Education

Good morning and thank you for having me. My name is Michelle Rancic and I am the parent of a 1st grader in the Montclair Public School district. Last year during a budget crisis Montclair cut its last School Librarian. I am here today to ask that School Library Programs be included in New Jersey's school funding overhaul.

Our children and young adults are in the midst of a Literacy Crisis. Reading performance peaked in 2012 and today's students score lower than those from a decade ago. Reading for pleasure has collapsed with only 14% of 9th grade students reading for fun on a daily basis. Data released from the OECD yesterday shows that U.S. reading scores fell 14 points between 2018 and 2025, the equivalent of almost an entire year of learning and the lowest on record. They also identified steep declines in skills that matter most in the age of AI: evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources and thinking critically about what we read.

That decline occurred alongside the rise of smartphones, social media and edtech. The OECD found that in reading, increased digitalization, longer screen times and falling rates of reading for pleasure have coincided with weaker literacy outcomes. The result is students who struggle with shortened attention spans and reduced reading fluency, stamina, vocabulary and comprehension. Poor readers also show significantly higher anxiety and depression than their peers. Reading difficulty is a mental health risk not just an academic one.

During those same years, we gutted the one program in our schools built to counterbalance all of it: School Library Programs.

Thankfully, states including New Jersey, have begun enacting cell phone bans and restricting the use of technology. In states that moved earlier, library visits and book circulation jumped. When you take the phone away, students reach for a book — but only if there's a library open and a librarian in it.

My love of books is the reason I'm here. And I attribute my love of books and my ability to access books to my School Library and School Librarian.

I was born in Brasil and English is my second language. Growing up my home life was challenging and I found escape and comfort in books. But I didn't have easy access to them. We didn't have a lot of money, the public library took multiple busses to reach and my mother worked weekends.

Fortunately, my school had a School Library and a School Librarian who gave me access to all the books I wanted. She gifted me over a dozen books, which I read over and over again. Those were the only books I owned at the time and they still sit on my bookshelves today.

But those books weren't just entertainment. They played a critical role in developing my English and literacy skills, which later allowed me to attend college and build a successful career.

Decades of research back this up and show that School Library Programs led by certified School Librarians result in improved literacy and academic outcomes across all student groups and particularly among vulnerable groups. Other benefits include better social-emotional and self-regulatory development and better overall mental well-being.

School Library Programs are not an intervention or an enhancement. They form part of the foundation of a well-rounded education, supporting every student in every subject.

New Jersey agreed. Since 2008, the School Funding Reform Act, has included School Librarians in the educational standards that define what it deems necessary for students to achieve a thorough and efficient education. Literacy expectations run through every core content area of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. And School Librarians connect literacy and learning across all of them. They are also the educator best qualified to lead instruction in media and information literacy, including AI literacy.

But being named in the standards is not enough. Current regulations and a lack of funding have left School Library Programs vulnerable to budget cuts. New Jersey has lost over 30% of its School Librarians since 2010. One in four NJ districts has none at all. More than a million students, most in larger, under-resourced districts, now operate with librarian ratios double what New Jersey's own Educational Adequacy Report recommends.

I respectfully urge that you ensure School Library Programs have a place in the future of New Jersey's schools. New Jersey should develop School Library Teaching & Learning Program Standards led by certified School Librarians, create a protected appropriation in school library budgets and provide state support so that smaller and under-resourced districts can fund this critical service.

If nothing is done, my daughter and millions of other New Jersey students may never receive the benefits — or, maybe more importantly, know the joys — of having a School Librarian or a School Library. As the state revises its school funding formula, it should recognize School Library Programs as exactly the type of investment that delivers the education New Jersey promises every student.

Thank you so much for your time.

Michelle Rancic
mnrancic@schoolsneedlibrarians.com

These are Susan Lipstein's own personal opinions and do not represent any organization or group.

My name is Susan Lipstein, I have been a resident of the Township of Union, Union County, for 43 years. I have been a teacher, returned to school and received a Master's in Library Service from Rutgers University. I have a professional librarian certificate from the state of New Jersey as well as state certification as a school media specialist. I have 38 plus years of experience working in public libraries in the state of New Jersey. I mentioned the dual certification, so you understand that I know the difference between what a teacher does, what a school librarian does and what a public librarian does.

I love my town and I love my profession.

I am here because my 76-year-old heart is breaking for the 7,500 plus students in my district who went back to school last week and have no school librarian in their school. On April 26, the district had six certified school librarians in our district and 10 functioning school libraries. On April 27, all the certified school librarians were fired. The Superintendent announced that library services to students would transition to a classroom-based service model. And that is the last announcement he made about school library services.

Although I love my town, I know our schools are not what they should be. I'm not a great believer in "rankings," but when we compare reading and math scores, my district scores in the bottom half of the state. I have attached recent reading scores of our younger students. Fifty years of research has shown that when schools have full-time certified school librarians and full-time functioning libraries, reading and literacy scores improve. If we want to improve, we cannot fire our librarians. It's that simple.

In May 2026, Gabrielle Casieri, President of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians, appeared here and in her testimony, she mentioned the plans to eliminate librarians in the Township of Union and asked, "How do these districts offer effective school library media services as required by administrative code?"

I have tried to get that question answered by my district. So far, I have not received a "transition plan." The district rehired one certified school librarian as required by the weak law in New Jersey.

I am sure this is NOT what New Jersey wants for its students.

So how did this happen in the state of New Jersey?

The biggest issue is the weak wording in the Administrative Code that allows districts to only employ one certified school librarian in a district, no matter the size of the district. And the code also has no clear definition of what school library media services are: N.J.A.C. 6A:13-2.1(h).

This absolutely must change.

The model state we need to look at is the state of Mississippi, which has higher literacy rates than the state of New Jersey, but also has the kind of stringent school librarian and school library curriculum requirements that the state of New Jersey in 2026 does NOT have. (mdek12.org/elementaryedu/library)

The Governor has been very open about and proud of how we are following the Mississippi model for high impact tutoring. In fact, my district just received a $320,000 grant for grades 3-8 because our scores are low, but along with that, it is important to know that Mississippi has strong policies for school libraries and school library services. I don't think high impact tutoring without school librarians and strong school libraries will give us the long-lasting success we are looking for in the state of New Jersey.

School librarians cannot be a luxury just for some districts. If we really believe in raising our literacy rates and reading scores, then we MUST provide equity in school services in the entire state of New Jersey. And that means that we, which includes you, the State Board of Education, the Commissioner of Education, the Governor, and the legislature must start walking the walk.

It will take time and money, but a well-funded and well-staffed school library with certified school librarians is educational equity in action and an investment where the return is the highest.

On behalf of the 7,500 children in my district, and thousands of others in the state of New Jersey, I am begging you to listen and then start making the changes we need that our children deserve.

Susan Lipstein