Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2540 Selection and Adoption of Curricular Materials INSTRUCTION 2540 Page 1 of 7 SELECTION AND ADOPTION OF CURRICULAR MATERIALS The Bonneville Joint School District Board of Trustees has the statutory responsibility to approve and provide textbooks and other necessary curricular materials for student and teacher use in the District. The Board recognizes the need to balance the rights of students to have access to many different types of books and materials and the right of teachers and administrators to select books and other materials in accordance with current trends in education. Therefore, it is the policy of the Board of Trustees to require that textbooks and curricular materials support instruction and learning of essential standards by: 1. Stimulating growth in knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic value, and ethical standards; 2. Providing background information to essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions; 3. Presenting diverse views of controversial issues; 4. Representing diverse religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contributions to our American heritage; 5. Depicting the cultural diversity and pluralistic nature of American society without bias or prejudice. Guidelines 1. The Director of Instruction and Learning is responsible to review and select all textbooks and supplemental curricular materials to be adopted as the primary curricular resource in all District schools. 2. For textbook adoptions the Director of Instruction and Learning will chair a committee composed of parents, administrators, teachers, and professional staff to review proposed materials and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees for the adoption pursuant to Idaho Code §33-512A. a. At least one-half (1/2) of this committee must include persons other than public educators and trustees. b. Shall include parents of a child or children attending a school or schools within the school district. c. All meetings of the committee shall be held in open session and be duly noticed. Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 INSTRUCTION 2540 Page 2 of 7 d. Any person may submit oral or written objections to any curricular materials under consideration. e. The district shall have on hand and available to the public the titles, authors and publishers of all curricular materials being used in the district. The public has the right to inspect the instructional materials except students’ tests, used in the district’s schools. f. All materials will be reviewed and selected based on readability and their capacity to provide appropriate connections of content material from grade-to-grade, and particularly from school-to-school. g. Recommendations for textbook and curricular material adoptions must fall within the amount allocated within the approved District budget for that fiscal year. 3. Final decision for adoption of curricular materials shall rest with the Board of Trustees, after a careful examination and discussion with school officials and patrons. Selection of Textbooks and Curricular Materials for Dual Credit Classes 1. The Board recognizes that dual credit classes are considered to be university courses that are subject to the policies of the sponsoring university. As university courses, the primary responsibility for approval of curricular materials for dual credit classes lies with the sponsoring university. 2. Before a class may be offered to students for dual credit, the teacher designated to teach any section of that class must submit the syllabus for the class to the Director of Instruction and Learning for approval. Approval to offer the class should be received before submitting the syllabus to the sponsoring university for approval. 3. The syllabus for each course will be made available to all students and parents who enroll in the course or who request it prior to enrolling in the class. The syllabus must clearly identify all curricular materials that students will be required to read, view, or otherwise engage with. All curricular materials will be made available to the students and the parents to preview. The syllabus for every dual credit course should include the following statement: “As a university course, parents and students may not be entitled to the same accommodations as can be provided in a regular high school course. Requests to withdraw from curriculum or assignments in dual credit classes pursuant to Idaho Code 33-6001 and Board Policy 2428 Parental Rights; may prevent students from Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 INSTRUCTION 2540 Page 3 of 7 earning college credits; however, students will still be provided the opportunity to earn high school credit.” 4. Students in dual credit courses may be responsible for the purchase of curricular materials for individual use. Process for Purchasing Curricular Materials 1. Teachers should not purchase curricular materials for use by students from their own personal funds. All curricular materials, including those to be used in dual credit classes, must be purchased from school or District funds. Exceptions to this must first be approved by the building principal in writing. 2. In order to purchase supplementary materials, a teacher or team of teachers must first search the list of approved supplemental curricular materials. a. If the material is in the list of approved supplemental curricular materials, staff members can proceed with the purchase since the material is already approved by completing the Textbook Requisition Form. b. If the requested curricular materials have not previously been approved, then Board approval must be requested by completing the Supplemental Curricular Form. 3. The review process will include approval from the building principal and the Director of Instruction and Learning. Approved materials will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for final approval. a. Following Board approved, the teacher can then complete the Textbook Requisition Form or use other funds to purchase the material. b. If the material is not recommended for approval, the principal and teacher or team of teachers will be notified. If a request has been denied, teachers can request approval from the Board by requesting the material be included on the next Board meeting as an action item. Teachers will be given the opportunity to present their rationale for use of the curricular materials directly to the Board of Trustees. Objections to Use of Curricular Materials Parents have the right to object to curricular materials and request alternative assignments pursuant to Board Policy 2428 Parental Rights and Idaho Code 33-6001. Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 INSTRUCTION 2540 Page 4 of 7 The provisions of this policy and statute do not necessarily apply to courses taken for college credit. 1. Citizens objecting to specific materials used in the District are encouraged to submit a complaint in writing on Form 2500F Statement of Concern about Curriculum/Media Resources and discuss the complaint with the building principal/designee prior to pursuing a formal complaint. Process for Objections to Use of Curricular Materials 1. Parent/Guardian or staff objecting to specific materials used in the District are encouraged to submit a complaint in writing on Form #2500F Statement of Concern about Curriculum/Media Resources. The challenged material will be temporarily removed to allow the Instructional Materials Review Committee to study the complete text, media, or content of the material in question. 2. Within five (5) school days of the receipt of the complaint, the Director of Instruction and Learning forms an Instructional Materials Committee. a. The committee will be composed of the following individuals: i. two members of the district’s current Instruction and Learning Team ii. two parents iii. one teacher iv. a certified school librarian b. A person who is directly involved in the complaint shall not serve on the committee. c. The Director of Instruction and Learning submits completed copies of the Statement of Concern about Curriculum/Media Resources form to each member of the Instructional Materials Committee. 3. The Director of Learning and Instruction will set a meeting date for the committee within fifteen (15) school days from the receipt of the complaint. a. The Director of Learning and Instruction will notify the complainant and committee members of the meeting date. b. All committee members must study the complete text, media, or content of the material in question and the issues of the complaint before the initial meeting. Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 INSTRUCTION 2540 Page 5 of 7 4. The committee shall: a. invite the complainant and the faculty member(s) most involved with the use of the material to provide oral and/or written comments to the committee to present their points of view. The committee may choose to invite expert witnesses to provide additional testimony. People testifying before the committee shall be present only during the testimony portion of the committee meeting. b. review the challenged material and the testimonies. c. determine the extent that the material supports the instructional program. d. discuss values, merits, and faults of the challenged material. e. base its opinion on the material in its entirety and not on passages pulled out of context. 5. The committee will vote on the disposition of the complaint. The committee will vote to decide whether: a. to keep the content where it is, b. to move the content to a school or platform with an older student demographic, or c. to remove the content from District access or collections. 6. Within two (2) school days of the decision, the Director of Instruction and Learning will notify the complainant in writing of the committee's decision. 7. The decision of the Instructional Materials Committee may be appealed to the Board of Trustees. a. The appeal request must be received within five (5) school days after the receipt of the appeal decision from the Instructional Material Committee. If an appeal is not received within five school days, the decision of the committee will be considered final. b. All requests, appeals, and responses shall be in writing and submitted to the Clerk of the Board. c. The appeal must be limited to the scope of the original complaint. d. The Board of Trustees’ decision is final. 14.The District shall notify a complainant of the date of the meeting at which the appeal will be addressed. 15.Within five (5) school days of the completion of the review and appeal process, the District will disseminate the final decision to all affected schools. Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 INSTRUCTION 2540 Page 6 of 7 16.The District’s Instruction and Learning Team will maintain a log of each formal complaint and the results of the review/appeal process. Guidelines for Student Use of Textbooks and Curricular Materials 1. Curricular materials may be made available for loan to students when the best interest of the District and student will be served. a. Students will not be charged for normal wear. b. Students will be charged for excessive wear and/or unreasonable damage to materials. c. Replacement costs for lost materials will be charged to students. 2. The professional staff will maintain the records necessary for proper accounting of all curricular materials. DEFINITIONS Curricular Materials: Any material used in classroom instruction, library materials, or any materials to which a teacher might refer a student as part of the course of instruction including textbooks, instructional media, including software, audio/visual media; and internet resources. Learning Team: team made up of Director of Instruction and Learning, Director of Special Education, Director of Intervention and Support, Director of Technology, and representatives from the Secondary and Elementary Principals. Supplemental curricular materials: printed instructional materials or digital content that are used on a consistent or regular basis and addresses only a portion of the course content, are required to be used by all students in the class, and are used in conjunction with a core text to provide differentiated instructional experiences to those students who need them. Adopted: 02-13-1986 Reviewed: 01-17-2018 Revised: 07-11-2001 06-08-2005 08-12-2020 04-13-2022 05-11-2022 Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 INSTRUCTION 2540 Page 7 of 7 Cross Reference: Advanced Opportunities #2367 Parental Rights #2428 Legal Reference: Idaho Code § 33-118A Curricular materials – Adoption procedure Idaho Code § 33-512A District curricular materials adoption committees IDAPA 08.02.03.128 Curricular Materials Selection and Online Course Approval Bonneville Joint School District No. 93