Challenged+Materials

Tuscaloosa County: Materials Review Policy The Board supports principles of intellectual freedom inherent in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States; therefore, the Board recognizes the right of any member of the school community to express objection to instructional material which he/she deems inappropriate. Any request for review or reconsideration of particular instructional materials should be referred to an official (principal or library media specialist) at the local school level. []=


 * Mobile County:**

CHALLENGED MATERIALS Reconsideration Procedures

Any member of the school community (administrators, faculty, staff, parents, or students) may raise objection to instructional materials provided by the school Library Media Center or central office Media Center despite the fact that the individuals selecting such material were duly qualified to make the selection, followed proper procedure, and observed the criteria for selecting such material. Persons requesting reconsideration of any instructional material shall complete the Mobile County Board of Education Request for Reconsideration of Library/Instructional Materials (see next page) in its entirety. Each school and the central office will keep on hand and make available this reconsideration form. All formal objections to materials must be made on this form.

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MOBILE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY/INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

School Title Media Format Author or Producer Date of Publication or Production

Request Initiated By:

Name Address Telephone Does the person making this request represent a group or organization? YES 􀀀 NO 􀀀

If so, please identify the name of the organization.

How was this material selected? Student Choice 􀀀 Required 􀀀

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. (ATTACH ADDITIONAL

SHEETS IF MORE SPACE IS NEEDED.)

1. Have you read, viewed, or listened to the material in its entirety?

YES 􀀀 NO 􀀀

2. What do you find objectionable about the material? Please cite the specific passages

and their relationship to the work as a whole.

3. What do you identify as the theme of this material?

4. What good features do you identify?

5. For what age group would you recommend this material?

6. In the place of this material, please recommend other material which you consider to

be of equal or superior quality for the educational purpose intended.

7. Do you wish to make an oral presentation to the Library Media Committee?

YES 􀀀 NO 􀀀

DATE SIGNATURE

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Procedures For Appeal

A. The school official or staff member receiving a complaint regarding instructional

materials shall explain the selection process utilized and the appeal procedures for

challenged materials. The person receiving the complaint shall be courteous, make

no commitment, and refrain from voicing personal opinion.

1. Written documentation of this contact should be filed with the school principal.

2. **// The material in question shall remain a part of the collection and in use until //**

the reconsideration process is completed.

B. In the event the person making an objection to material is not satisfied with the initial

explanation, the person should be referred to the principal who shall explain the

selection and reconsideration process but refraining from expressing personal

opinion.

1. If, after consultation, the complainant desires to file a formal complaint, a copy of

the reconsideration form should be given to the complainant by the principal.

2. The reconsideration form shall be completed and signed by the complainant and

filed with the principal and a copy forwarded to the district Media Supervisor.

C. Any action taken related to challenged materials must be heard by the school's

Library Advisory Committee.

1. Each committee member shall read, view or listen to the material in question in its

entirety, and reach a professional evaluation pertaining to the material. The

Library Media Specialist will compile necessary professional evaluations of the

material in question.

2. The deliberation and balloting of the Library Advisory Committee shall be

private.

3. The Library Advisory Committee shall meet to:

• Hear the concerns expressed by the complainant

• Discuss the materials relative to values and faults, appropriateness to

grade level, and curriculum.

• Form opinions based on the materials as a whole and not on passages

pulled out of context

• Render a majority decision, in a meeting with a quorum present, choosing

one of the following:

(1) take no removal action

(2) remove the challenged material

(3) limit the educational use of the challenged material

(4) place the material at another grade level

4. Within five days of the Library Advisory Committee's decision, the chairperson

shall notify the complainant in writing of the decision reached and advise of the

right to appeal.

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Appealed Decisions

A. Appeals to the school's Library Advisory Committee's decision must be made within

ten working days after formal notification of the decision. A written request must be

addressed to the district level Library Advisory Committee. The district level Library

Advisory Committee will be composed of the following:

• Supervisor of library media services;

• Representative Library Media Specialist/s – including Library Media

Specialist from school involved;

• Representative/s of the superintendent's Student and Teacher Advisory

Committees; and

• Curriculum & Instruction Supervisor/s.

B. The school Media Specialist and/or principal will provide information to each School

Board member which will include:

• Decision of the school Library Advisory Committee

• Right to Read

• Library Bill of Rights

C. The appeal will be scheduled on the Board meeting calendar. All parties will be

given the opportunity to speak.

D. The Mobile County Board of School Commissioners is the final authority.

E. Requests to reconsider materials which have previously been before the Board must

receive approval of a majority of the Board members before the materials will be

reconsidered.

Review of Selection and Appeal Procedure

A. Principals shall review the selection and reconsideration procedures with all staff

annually.

B. The staff shall be reminded that the right to object to material is one granted by

policies enacted by the Board of Education and firmly entrenched in the law. They

shall also be reminded of ethical and practical considerations in attempting to handle __complaints with courtesy and integrity.__

__WE have a policy in place for this I-16 I thought we had guidelines for a Challenge already in the binder, but I did not find them.__ __(Margaret)__

__LAMAR COUNTY HANDBOOK ON CHALLENGES (Donna) (this one differs on who makes the decision about retention )__ __If a complaint is made, the following procedures should be observed:__ __1.The building principal, in conjunction with the library medial specialist will inform the complainant of the selection procedures.__

__2.If the complainant wants to proceed with a formal complaint, the building principal will supply a copy of the reconsideration form which must be completed and returned to the offfice of the Superintendant.__

__3.The Superintendant will appoint a Materials Review Committee composed of one central office administrator, one building principal, two teachers, and two parents who will:__ __a.re-examine the challenged material__ __b.survey appraisals of he material in professional review sources__ __c.weigh merits against alleged faults to form opinions based on the material as a whole and not on passages isolated from context;__ __d. and discuss the material and prepare a written recommendation within 30 days to the Superintendant.__

__4.Based on the recommendation of the Committee, the Superintendant will make a final decision regarding the material and deliver the decision in writing to the complainant and appropriate staff members.__

__5. In the event the request is denied, the complainant may appeal the decision to the Board for public hearing. The request for a hearing must be in writing, signed and delivered to the Superintendant within two weeks following issuance of the origiinal decision. The Superintendant will arrange a timely Board hearing. The Board's decision on an appeal is final.__

__REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF SCHOOL LIBRARY MATERIAL__ __Date__ Name_

Address Phone

Title and Author of Material: _

__Have you read the material in its entirety?___

__Are you aware of critical reviews or other comment concerning this material?__ _

What do you find objectionable about the material?

Please cite specific passages and their relationship to the work as a whole. _ _ (Feel free to add pages to fully answer this question)

What harm do you feel this material will do to readers? _ _ _

What action are you requesting concerning this material? Reclassification to another part of the library collection Removal from the collection

Signature _

NEW YORK CITY LIBRARIAN'S HANDBOOK Donna) Link to challenged materials form and information [] This process also includes people out of the building in making the decision about a challenged item. I think a student could also serve on the committee here. There are also some different questions on their challenge document that might be considered.