Procedure

2311P - Selection and Adoption of Instructional Materials

Procedure: 2311P

Section: 2000 - Instruction

Title: Selection and Adoption of Instructional Materials

Status: Active

Adopted: December 15, 1995

Procedure - Selection and Adoption of Instructional Materials

I. District Instructional Materials Committee

The District Instructional Materials Committee is appointed by the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the direction of the superintendent. In addition to appointees who represent district administrators, librarians, and teachers, three parent/community representatives will serve on the committee. The term of office for all members is three years. The committee shall conduct a minimum of two meetings per year. Special meetings may be called by the director of curriculum and instruction if necessary.

The function of the committee is to insure that materials are selected in conformance to stated criteria.

Responsibilities include:

A. Monitoring procedures for selecting, adopting and discarding instructional materials owned and used by the district.

B. Acting upon requests for text approval and removal.

C. Evaluating and acting upon citizens' requests for reconsideration of instructional materials.

II Instructional Materials Definition

Instructional materials shall be defined as all printed, electronic, filmed or recorded materials furnished by the district for student use and/or included on students' reading lists. Instructional materials shall be categorized as follows:

A. Basic Materials

Basic materials are defined as the major instructional materials for a given course or subject to fulfill state grade level expectations and are used by every student in a given course or grade level. They are generally selected at the time of the curriculum revision.

When a course is built around a collection of pamphlets, periodicals, paperback books, etc., rather than a single textbook, the collection shall be considered the basic text. Basic materials shall be approved by the District Instructional Materials Committee and adopted by the Board of Directors prior to classroom use.

B. Supplementary Materials

Supplementary Materials are defined as items supplementing the basic text of a course and are generally held in quantities of less than one per student. They shall be approved by the District Instructional Materials Committee and adopted by the Board of Directors.

Supplementary materials are generally presented by the classroom teacher to small and/or large groups of students or students are assigned work from a supplementary source that supports the basic text. Supplementary materials are generally part of the instructional program on a regular basis and may include such resources as student workbooks, commercial programs, on-title literature sets, remediation programs, intervention programs, etc. In most instances supplementary materials are recommended by a district level curriculum committee or a secondary department. Materials selected from a commercial resource, selected by an individual teacher (vs. a grade level or department) that are used occasionally are not considered an integral part of the basic instructional program are to be approved as Temporary/Complementary Instructional Materials.

The responsibility for approval of supplementary materials used on a single-building or district-wide basis are submitted on the Basic and Supplementary Instructional Materials From No. 2311 P-1, Attachment 3. The building principal then submits the form to the program director if appropriate. The program director or building principal submits the recommendation to the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for approval by the District Instructional Materials Committee followed by approval by the school board of directors.

Approval of supplementary instructional materials does not mandate district level funding of such materials, particularly if they are on a building or department basis. Records of all supplementary instructional materials are kept both at the building and at the district level, in terms of an inventory of approved basic and supplementary instructional materials. C. Temporary/Complementary Materials Teachers are required to use board adopted texts and supplemental instructional resources as the foundation of instruction. However, such instructional resources may be enriched and extended with appropriate temporary/complementary resources.

C. Temporary/Complementary Materials

Teachers are required to use board adopted texts and supplemental instructional resources as the foundation of instruction. However, such instructional resources may be enriched and extended with appropriate temporary/complementary resources.

These are materials that may be used occasionally and/or are not required for all students. They are resources that are used in a transitory fashion. These materials are generally brought into classrooms by librarians or classroom teachers. The responsibility of getting approval of temporary/complementary materials is delegated to the building principal. Principals may establish an in-building instructional materials committee to recommend approval to the building principal.

These materials must comply with Board Policy No. 2311 and meet the criteria on the Quick Screen Checklist, Attachments 1 and 2.

D. Software Instructional Materials

Software purchased and used in the Ferndale School District must be approved by the Building Principal, Program Director, Curriculum Director/Technology Leadership Team (TLT) and finally by the Technology Oversight Team (TOC). Attachment 5 must be completed in its entirely and submitted to the Director of Technology for consideration by the District Technology Oversight Committee, which meets on a monthly basis. Request must be submitted by March 1 if district level funding is to be recommended. If the request is for a program and/or building level funding, the forms may be submitted as needed. Recommendations from the TOC will be communicated back to the originator of the request and the building principal. A record of approval software will be kept at the building and district levels. No new software may be purchased or used without the recommendation of the Technology Oversight Committee.

E. Responsibilities

The principal is responsible for insuring the continuing familiarity of his/her certificated staff with the requirements of this policy and procedure. The director of curriculum and instruction shall provide such technical assistance as may be necessary.

III Selection, Adoption, and Use of Instructional Materials

A. Basic and supplementary resources shall be reviewed by district curriculum committees or, at the secondary level, the building level and district instructional materials committees.

District staff and citizens may recommend resources they would like to be considered.
Basic and supplementary resources shall be evaluated against the criteria detailed in Section IV of this procedure.
Appropriate records of the resources reviewed and minutes of the review process shall be retained in the office of the building principal for all supplementary and temporary/complementary materials and the department of curriculum, instruction and assessment for supplementary and basic instructional materials.
Resources recommended for adoption shall be reviewed by the appropriate principal and/or program administrator.

B. Recommendations for basic and supplemental resources must be submitted to the District Instructional Materials Committee for evaluation by the first day of April for purchase and use in the coming year.

C. The Superintendent directs that all non-emergency materials requests be confined to one board meetings per year. Requests to deviate from the regular schedule should be forwarded to the curriculum department.

IV Criteria for Selection

A. Staff are expected to place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection of materials in order to assure a comprehensive collection appropriate for the instructional program. Instructional materials selected shall include, but are not limited to, those that:

Align with district philosophy of education, general instructional goals, program goals and objectives, and district policies and regulations.
Support and enrich the curriculum considering the varied instructional needs, abilities and maturity levels of students served.
Stimulate student growth in the critical thinking, factual knowledge, and literary and aesthetic appreciation.
Provide sufficient variety so as to objectively present differing views of issues, controversial or otherwise, in order that students may develop analytical and decision-making skills.
Contribute to developing an understanding of the ethnic, cultural, and occupational diversity of American life.

B. Materials selected for use in the classroom should provide a balanced presentation of the concerns and contributions of both genders and members of the diverse religious, ethnic, and cultural groups. If materials uniquely suited to an important purpose fail to provide such balance, they should be used only in conjunction with countervailing materials. Questions to address in reviewing potential materials include the following:

Is more than one minority group included?
Are some of the main characters ethnic minorities?
Are "racially derogatory" terms used in the text?
If a language other than English is used, are there any obvious errors in usage?
Are minorities portrayed as realistically as others in the text?
Are there any minority characters portrayed stereotypically?
Are both sexes equally portrayed in: Intellectual endeavors, physical activities, vocational pursuits, domestic endeavors, traditional/non-traditional activities, creative endeavors, and recreational activities?

C. Classroom Audiovisual, Electronic and Nonprint Materials (excluding software)

Audiovisual, electronic and nonprint materials selected shall meet the criteria stated in items A and B above.
Preview, selection and purchase of audiovisual materials shall be consistent with appropriate district procedures.
Films, videos (including PBS programs and related materials) and electronic media must be obtained and shown in compliance with the copyright rules and statutes stated in Board Policy and Administrative Procedures No. 2312.
No "PG 13", "R", or "X" rated materials may be shown to any student. Only "G" rated videos may be shown to elementary students. In selected cases, "PG" videos may be shown to students in grades 7-12 if they are previewed in total and approved in writing by the principal.
All videos, films, and electronic material used as complementary resources must be previewed by the teacher in their entirety with the use of the Quick Screen Check List (Attachment 2).

D. Tasks and Timelines for Selection of Materials

Task	Person	Timeline
1) Identify Text	Curriculum committee or department chair	August - March
2) Decide whether text should be piloted or simply adopted a. If it is to be piloted complete Request for approval of pilot instructional materials	Committee/department Chair Committee/department	Anytime One month prior use of materials by March of the year before the pilot is to be conducted, if district level funding is required to conduct the pilot
b. For adoption without a pilot, follow steps 3-7
3) Complete request for approval of basic and/or supplementary instructional materials 2311 P-1 Attachment 3	Curriculum/department chair/building principal	Form must be submitted to director of curriculum and instruction by first of March for consideration of district funding
4) Review instructional materials and recommend for approval	Instructional Materials Review Committee Building and/ or district level	March board meeting
5) Provide for citizen review	Director of Curriculum and Instruction	Two weeks prior to formal board action
6) Adopt recommended materials	Board of Directors	Board meeting in May
Notify requestor of board action	Director of Curriculum and Instruction	Immediately after board decision
Purchase materials	Principal/Director of curriculum and instruction	After notification of approval

V. Availability and Examination

A. District citizens and staff shall have access to the instructional resources in use. Instructional resources may be reviewed at the school where such materials are used provided that:

1. the school visitation guidelines, Board Policy No. 4311 are followed,

2. the review shall not be disruptive of the educational program, and

3. the principal and/or program administrator shall determine how the specified material shall be made available.

VI Challenged Resources

A. Introductory Statement The following procedures are established so that concerned citizens and staff of the Ferndale School District may request reconsideration of instructional resources in use in the district. Every effort shall be made to resolve the concern in as short a time as possible. The resource(s) in question will be retained in use as originally approved during the entire reconsideration and appeal process. However, sufficient copies of the resource(s) may be temporarily removed for the purpose of review.

B. Procedures for requesting the reconsideration of instructional resources.

1. The person(s) concerned shall first discuss the problem with the principal and the certificated staff member involved.

2. If an understanding is not reached, the person(s) concerned may submit to the principal a completed Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Resources form (Attachment 5). Staff member(s) shall respond to the complaint on the Staff Response Form (Attachment 6) . The principal shall send informational copies of the reconsideration request and the staff member's response to the superintendent and the director of curriculum and instruction.

a. If the challenge is directed against complementary books or materials used at the building level, the principal shall respond. If the response of the principal does not resolve the problem, a conference, including the staff member, department chairperson, the principal and the concerned person(s) shall be held. A written response will be provided to the person(s) submitting the reconsideration request within ten (10) business days of the meeting.

b. If the challenge is directed against district-adopted basic or supplementary instructional material, the Director of Curriculum and Instruction shall respond, following the same steps delineated in 2a.

3. If the conference in 2a or 2b does not bring resolution, the person(s) requesting reconsideration may appeal the issue within ten (10) business days of receipt of the letter to the District Instructional Materials Committee for action.

a. The person(s) seeking reconsideration of the resource(s) will be given an opportunity to personally address the District Instructional Materials Committee.

b. The decision of the District Instructional Materials Committee shall be communicated in writing to the person(s) seeking reconsideration within ten (10) business days of the decision.

c. A decision by the District Instructional Materials Committee to remove any complementary material(s) shall be final. The superintendent and the Board of Directors shall be informed in writing of this decision.

4. A decision of the District Instructional Materials Committee to remove basic or supplementary materials shall be communicated in writing to the superintendent and the Board of Directors for their action at the next regularly scheduled board meeting.

a. The person(s) making the appeal will be given an opportunity to personally address the Board of Directors.

b. The review and final action of the Board of Directors shall be in accordance with the Basic Education Act of 1977 as revised.