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Jordan School
District Literature Selection and Review
Processes
I. Board Policy
The Policy of the Board of Education
is to see that all students have extensive
experience with quality literature. The
Board is committed to involve parents
in selecting appropriate literature
for school use, and respects the right
of parents to protect their children
from literature which they personally
consider damaging. Therefore,
the Board delegates to the Administration
responsibility for developing guidelines
for administering this policy.
II. Administration Policy
The Literature Selection and Review
policy shall be administered according
to the following guidelines:
A. Standards for Required Reading
- Literature selections which
are assigned as required reading or
read aloud to students in the classroom
shall meet the following criteria:
- The subject matter, interest
and reading level, and maturity level
of the selection are appropriate for
the students being taught.
- The selection is appropriate
for the age, emotional development,
ability level, and social development
of the students being taught.
- The selection meets an appropriate
instructional purpose.
- The selection will help students
better understand themselves and others.
- The selection has identifiable
literary or curricular merit.
- The selection appropriately
models a literary element (character,
setting, plot, conflict, etc.), style,
or genre that the student is expected
to learn.
- Literature that students select
themselves from school library media
centers, public libraries, home libraries,
or other sources shall not come under
the guidelines of this policy.
B. Organization
of Literature Selection and Review
Committees
- Elementary Literature Selection
and Review Committees
- Each elementary school shall
organize a Literature Selection and
Review Committee for the purpose of
selecting and reviewing literature
for the classroom as requested by the
principal, teachers, or parents within
the school.
- Committee membership shall
include the principal, who will chair
the committee, two teachers appointed
by the principal (one from the primary
grades and one from the intermediate
grades), and two parents appointed
by the School Community Group.
- Secondary Literature Selection and Review
Committees
- Each secondary school shall organize a Literature
Selection and Review Committee for the purpose of
recommending literature selections to the corresponding
District committee. At the request of the principal,
teachers, or parents within the school, the committee
shall also review literature selections whose appropriateness
is challenged.
- Committee membership shall
include the principal, who will chair
the committee, one teacher appointed
by the principal and one parent appointed
by the School Community Group.
- District Elementary Literature Selection
and Review Committee
- The District shall organize an Elementary
Literature Selection and Review Committee. Membership
shall include nine teachers (three from each area)
and nine parents (three from each area) who are selected
from the local Elementary Literature Selection and
Review Committees by the corresponding Area Assistant
Superintendent. An administrative staff assistant
and an area library media specialist shall be included
on the committee. The committee shall be chaired
by the District Language Arts Consultant.
- The committee shall meet at
least four times each year for the
purpose of evaluating new literature
selections which are being considered
as suggested reading. The committee
shall periodically compile recommended
reading lists for grades 4, 5, and
6.
- District Middle School and High School Literature
Selection and Review Committees
- These committees shall be organized for the
purpose of screening and approving the literature
which is assigned as required reading in the District's
secondary schools.
- Committee membership shall
include all of the teachers and parents
who serve on the corresponding local
school committees. An administrative
staff assistant and one secondary library
media specialist shall be included
on the committees. The committees
shall be chaired by the District Language
Arts Consultant and meet at least twice
each year to review and approve new
selections.
- Teachers shall not assign
any literature selection which has
not had prior approval for use in the
classroom. However, secondary teachers
who wish to teach a selection that
does not appear on the current master
list should complete a Recommendation
Form and submit it to the appropriate
middle or high school district committee
for review and approval. (Recommendation
forms are available from the District
Curriculum Department.)
- Working in concert, the District Elementary,
Middle School, and High School Committees shall articulate
required literature assignments to assure that selections
are offered at the appropriate age/maturity level
and to see that required reading assignments are
not duplicated as students move forward through the
grades.
C. Literature
Selection and Review Process
- Elementary Committees
- Literature selection for classroom material
shall be conducted at the local level. District
committee literature lists may be used to assist
the local committee in making selections.
- The local committees shall
coordinate and articulate titles among
the grade levels of their own schools.
- Middle School and High School Committees
- Middle School and High School Committees
shall recommend literature to the corresponding district
committees for approval at least six weeks prior
to a scheduled meeting.
- Members of the district committees
shall read selections under consideration.
- The district committees shall
determine by majority vote, using the
criteria established under II A of
this policy as a guide, whether or
not a given selection shall be approved.
D. Challenges
to approved Literature
- Challenges to approved literature
used in the classroom shall be submitted
in writing to the local school committee. (Forms
are available at the district office.)
- The principal, as chair of the committee,
shall call a committee meeting to review the challenge. Each
committee member shall receive a copy of the challenge
and read the selection prior to the meeting.
- The committee as a whole shall discuss the
challenged selection, based on the guidelines outlined
under Item A of this policy and the written challenge.
- The committee shall determine by majority
vote whether or not the challenged material selection
shall be retained for classroom instruction.
- Decisions of the local school committees
may be appealed to the corresponding District committee. The
review process shall be the same as outlined for
local school committees in items 1-4 above.
E. Parent Rights
- Parents may exempt their son/daughter
from a required reading assignment
if they personally find the literature
objectionable.
- The student shall be assigned an alternate
literature selection without penalty.
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