Board Policy Manual

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A district possesses significant discretion to determine the content of its school libraries. A district must, however, exercise its discretion in a manner consistent with the First Amendment.

Students' First Amendment rights are implicated by the removal of books from the shelves of a school library. A district shall not remove materials from a library for the purpose of denying students access to ideas with which the district disagrees. A district may remove materials because they are pervasively vulgar or based solely upon the educational suitability of the books in question.

Bd. of Educ. v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982)

Instructional materials selected for use in the public schools shall be furnished without cost to students attending those schools. Except as provided by Education Code 31.104(d), a district may not charge a student for instructional material or technological equipment purchased by the district with the district's technology and instructional materials allotment [see CMD]. Education Code 31.001

A parent is entitled to:

  1. Review all teaching materials, instructional materials, including while the child is participating in virtual or remote learning, and other teaching aids used in the classroom of the parent's child;
  2. Review each test administered to the child after the test is administered; and
  3. Observe virtual instruction while the parent's child is participating in virtual or remote learning to the same extent the parent would be entitled to observe in-person instruction of the child.

A district shall make teaching materials and tests readily available for parental review and may specify reasonable hours for such review.

A student's parent is entitled to request that a district allow the student to take home any instructional materials used by the student. Subject to the availability of the instructional materials, a district or school shall honor the request. A student who takes home instructional materials must return the instructional materials to school at the beginning of the next school day if requested to do so by the student's teacher.

A district must provide the instructional materials to the student in printed format if the student does not have reliable access to technology at the student's home. This requirement does not require a district to purchase printed copies of instructional materials that the district would not otherwise purchase. A district may comply with this requirement by providing the student a printout of the relevant electronic instructional materials.

A district that uses a learning management system or any online learning portal to assign, distribute, present, or make available instructional materials as defined by Education Code 31.002 [see EFA] to students shall provide login credentials to the system or portal to each student's parent.

Education Code 26.006

"Harmful material" means material whose dominant theme taken as a whole:

  1. Appeals to the prurient interest of a minor, in sex, nudity, or excretion;
  2. Is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for minors; and
  3. Is utterly without redeeming social value for minors.

Penal Code 43.24(a)

"Obscene" means material or a performance:

  1. The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest in sex;
  2. Depicts or describes
    1. Patently offensive representations or descriptions of ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including sexual intercourse, sodomy, and sexual bestiality; or
    2. Patently offensive representations or descriptions of masturbation, excretory functions, sadism, masochism, lewd exhibition of the genitals, the male or female genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal, covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state or a device designed and marketed as useful primarily for stimulation of the human genital organs; and
  3. Taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value.

Penal Code 43.21(1)

Under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), no student shall be required, as part of any program funded in whole or in part by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), to submit to a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning the topics listed at Protected Information, below, without the prior consent of the student (if the student is an adult or emancipated minor), or, in the case of an unemancipated minor, without the prior written consent of the parent. 20 U.S.C. 1232h(b)

All instructional materials, including teacher's manuals, films, tapes, or other supplementary material, that will be used in connection with any survey, analysis, or evaluation as part of any program funded in whole or in part by the U.S. ED shall be available for inspection by the parents or guardians of the children. 20 U.S.C. 1232h(a)

Except as provided by 20 U.S.C. 1232h(a) or (b) [see U.S. ED Funded Surveys, above], as a condition of receiving funds for a program funded in whole or in part by the U.S. ED, a district shall develop and adopt policies, in consultation with parents, pursuant to 20 U.S.C. 1232h(c)(1), regarding the following:

  1. The parent's right to inspect a survey created by a third party before the survey is administered or distributed by a school to the student and any applicable procedures for granting a request by a parent for reasonable access to such survey within a reasonable period of time after the request is received.
  2. A district's arrangements to protect student privacy in the event a survey containing one or more of the items listed under Protected Information, below, is administered or distributed to a student.
  3. The parent's right to inspect any instructional material used in the educational curriculum for the student and any applicable procedures for granting a request by a parent for reasonable access to instructional material within a reasonable period of time after the request is received.
  4. The administration of physical examinations or screenings that a district may administer to the student.
  5. The collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the purpose of marketing or selling that information. This provision does not apply to use of personal information collected from students for the exclusive purpose of developing, evaluating, or providing educational products or services for or to students or educational institutions, such as recruiters, book clubs, curriculum and instructional materials used by schools, sale by students of products or services to raise funds for school-related or education-related activities, or student recognition programs.
  6. The parent's right to inspect any instrument used in collection of personal information in item 5 above, before the instrument is administered and any applicable procedures for granting a request by a parent for reasonable access to such instrument within a reasonable period of time after the request is received.

A district need not develop and adopt new policies if TEA or the district had in place, on January 8, 2002, policies covering the requirements of 20 U.S.C. 1232h(c)(1). [See CRD, FFAA, FL, and FNG]

A district shall provide for reasonable notice of the adoption or continued use of such policies directly to the parents of the students enrolled in schools served by the district. At a minimum, a district shall:

  1. Provide notice at least annually, at the beginning of the school year and within a reasonable time after any substantive change in the policies; and
  2. Offer an opportunity for the parent to opt the student out of participation in an activity described below.

A district shall directly notify the parent of a student, at least annually at the beginning of the school year, of the specific or approximate dates during the school year when activities, described below, are scheduled or expected to be scheduled. The following activities require notification under this section:

  1. Activities involving the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the purpose of marketing or for selling that information.
  2. The administration of any survey containing one or more items described at Protected Information, below.
  3. Any nonemergency, invasive physical examination or screening that is required as a condition of attendance, administered and scheduled by the school in advance, and not necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of the student or of other students.

20 U.S.C. 1232h(c)(1)–(4) [See FFAA]

Protected information addressed by 20 U.S.C. 1232h includes:

  1. Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student's parents.
  2. Mental and psychological problems of the student or the student's family.
  3. Sex behavior and attitudes.
  4. Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, and demeaning behavior.
  5. Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships.
  6. Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers.
  7. Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student's parent.
  8. Income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).

20 U.S.C. 1232h(b), (c)(1)(B)

The term "personal information" means individually identifiable information, including a student's:

  1. First and last name;
  2. Home or physical address, including street name and city or town;
  3. Telephone number; or
  4. Social security identification number.

20 U.S.C. 1232h(c)(6)(E)

SHERMAN ISD

EF(LEGAL)-P

UPDATE 121

DATE ISSUED: 5/25/2023

Adopted: Date not found

Note: For information related to the selection process and accounting of instructional materials, as this term is defined by state law and rule, see CMD and EFA.

The District shall provide a wide range of instructional resources for students and faculty that present varying levels of difficulty, diversity of appeal, and a variety of points of view. Although professional staff members may select instructional resources for their use in accordance with District policy and administrative regulations, the ultimate authority for determining and approving the curriculum and instructional program of the District lies with the Board.

Objectives

In this policy, "instructional resources" may include textbooks, library acquisitions, supplementary resources for classroom use, and any other instructional resources, including electronic resources, used for formal or informal teaching and learning purposes. The primary objectives of instructional resources are to implement, enrich, and support the District's educational program.

The Board shall rely on District professional staff to select and acquire instructional resources that:

Enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration students' varied interests, abilities, learning styles, and maturity levels.

Stimulate growth in factual knowledge, enjoyment of reading, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and societal standards.

Present various sides of controversial issues so that students have an opportunity to develop, under guidance, skills in critical analysis and in making informed judgments in their daily lives.

Represent many ethnic, religious, and cultural groups and their contributions to the national heritage and world community.

Provide a wide range of background information that will enable students to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives.

Selection Criteria

In the selection of instructional resources, professional staff shall ensure that the resources:

Support and are consistent with the general educational goals of the state and District and the aims and objectives of individual schools and specific courses consistent with the District and campus improvement plans.

Meet high standards for artistic quality and/or literary style, authenticity, educational significance, factual content, physical format, presentation, readability, and technical quality.

Are appropriate for the subject area and for the age, ability level, learning styles, and social and emotional development of the students for whom they are selected.

Are designed to help students gain an awareness of our pluralistic society.

Are designed to provide information that will motivate students and staff to examine their own attitudes and behavior; to understand their duties, responsibilities, rights, and privileges as citizens participating in our society; and to make informed choices in their daily lives.

For library selections, are integral to the instructional program, are appropriate for the reading levels and understanding of students, reflect the interests and needs of the students and faculty, are included because of their literary or artistic value and merit, and present information with the greatest degree of accuracy and clarity.

Administrators, teachers, library media specialists, other District personnel, parents, and community members, as appropriate, may recommend instructional resources for selection. Gifts of instructional resources shall be evaluated according to these criteria and accepted or rejected in accordance with CDC(LOCAL).

Selection of resources is an ongoing process that includes the removal of resources no longer appropriate and the periodic replacement or repair of resources that still have educational value.

Controversial Issues

District professional staff shall endeavor to maintain a balanced collection representing various views when selecting instructional resources on controversial issues. Resources shall be chosen to clarify historical and contemporary forces by presenting and analyzing intergroup tension and conflict objectively, placing emphasis on recognizing and understanding social and economic problems. [See also EMB regarding instruction about controversial issues and EHAA regarding human sexuality instruction.]

Challenged Resources

A parent of a District student, any employee, or any District resident may formally challenge an instructional resource used in the District's educational program on the basis of appropriateness.

Informal Reconsideration

The school receiving a complaint about the appropriateness of an instructional resource shall try to resolve the matter informally using the following procedure:

The principal or designee shall explain the school's selection process, the criteria for selection, and the qualifications of the professional staff who selected the questioned resource.

The principal or designee shall explain the intended educational purpose of the resource and any additional information regarding its use.

If appropriate, the principal or designee may offer a concerned parent an alternative instructional resource to be used by that parent's child in place of the challenged resource.

If the complainant wishes to make a formal challenge, the principal or designee shall provide the complainant a copy of this policy and a form to request a formal reconsideration of the resource.

Formal Reconsideration

A complainant shall make any formal objection to an instructional resource on the form provided by the District and shall submit the completed and signed form to the principal. Upon receipt of the form, the principal shall appoint a reconsideration committee.

The reconsideration committee shall include at least one member of the instructional staff who has experience using the challenged resource with students or is familiar with the challenged resource's content. Other members of the committee may include District-level staff, library staff, secondary-level students, parents, and any other appropriate individuals.

All members of the committee shall review the challenged resource in its entirety. As soon as reasonably possible, the committee shall meet and determine whether the challenged resource conforms to the principles of selection set out in this policy. The committee shall prepare a written report of its findings and provide copies to the principal, the Superintendent or designee, and the complainant.

Appeal

The complainant may appeal the decision of the reconsideration committee in accordance with appropriate complaint policies, starting with the appropriate administrator. [See DGBA, FNG, and GF]

Guiding Principles

The following principles shall guide the Board and staff in responding to challenges of instructional resources:

A complainant may raise an objection to an instructional resource used in a school's educational program, despite the fact that the professional staff selecting the resources were qualified to make the selection, followed the proper procedure, and adhered to the objectives and criteria for instructional resources set out in this policy.

A parent's ability to exercise control over reading, listening, or viewing matter extends only to his or her own child.

Access to a challenged resource shall not be restricted during the reconsideration process, except the District may deny access to a child if requested by the child's parent.

The major criterion for the final decision on challenged resources is the appropriateness of the resource for its intended educational use. No challenged instructional resource shall be removed solely because of the ideas expressed therein.

SHERMAN ISD

EF(LOCAL)-A

UPDATE 108

DATE ISSUED: 5/29/2017