CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES The Administration believes that suitability is the major criterion for the selection of educational resources. The professional staff must use professional selection criteria and educational relevance rather than personal opinions, values, and beliefs in the selection of resources. Materials selected for media center or classroom use must fulfill a curricular or leisure reading need, and meet the following criteria: A. Educational resources should (criteria not ranked): 1. be selected according to the general educational goals of the school district, the goals and objectives ofthe individual schools and specific courses. 2. be appropriate for the age, interests, abilities, learning styles, social development, and maturity levels of the students. 3. provide information to motivate students and staff to examine their own attitudes and behavior, to comprehend their duties, responsibilities, rights, and privileges as participating citizens in our society, and to make informed judgments in their daily lives. 4. represent the diversity of religious, ethnic, political, and cultural values held in a pluralistic society. 5. illustrate the contributions made by various groups to our national heritage and to the world. 6. illustrate historical and contemporary forces in society to enable users to recognize and understand social, economic, personal, and political problems. 7. provide various points of view about issues, including those considered to be controversial. 8. represent various theories about the physical environment and the universe. B. Media specialists and teachers should consider: 1. reputable, unbiased selection tools and arrange, when possible, for firsthand examination of resources to be purchased. 2. technical quality and physical condition appropriate to format and intended use. 3. scope, arrangement, and organization, relevance of information, special features, and overall value to the collection. 4. selection of resources for specific courses to be consistent with the educational goals for the district, the objectives of the course, and the characteristics of the students. PROCEDURES FOR SELECTION OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES The Guilford County Board of Education delegates the responsibility for coordinating the selection of instructional resources and recommendation for purchase to the Superintendent and/or his designee, the principals, the teachers and the professional media personnel in the administrative unit. The administration is committed to receiving input from the faculty, staff, students, parents and the community in the selection of educational resources. To achieve this goal, each school shall establish a Media and Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC). At the local school level, the principal, as the instructional leader, shall designate an MTAC which will meet no fewer than three times a year. The MTAC shall to include the principal or designee, a media specialist (who will chair the committee), teacher representatives from grade levels and all program areas, as well as parent representation, and may include student representation at elementary and middle levels; and shall include student representation at the high school level. Annual training or duties and responsibilities will be provided. A. When examining resources for the media center, media specialists, and teachers should evaluate available and newly proposed resources, assess curriculum needs, consider networking arrangements, and consult reputable, professional reviews for selection. Whenever possible, the actual item should be previewed or examined and judged as a whole. B. When examining resources for classroom instruction, media specialists, MTAC, and teachers should evaluate available and newly proposed resources, assess curriculum needs, consider networking arrangements, and consult reputable, professional reviews for selection. The actual item shall be previewed or examined and judged as a whole. The school’s media special will secure signatures on the booklist addition form and send it to the Office of Curriculum and Instruction before the resource is assigned to students. C. The use of video in the classroom should be: 1. largely limited to those owned by the school, with the exception of those supported through online district licenses, or approved in advance by the administration. 2. used to support objectives in the Common Core State Standards and the North Carolina Essential Standards. 3. shown as brief clips for discussion or illustration. 4. shown in entirety only when the educational value is clearly merited and approved by administration. 5. in alignment with other principles established in this procedure. D. Recommendations for purchase may be made by administrators, teachers, students, district personnel, and community persons. Decisions to purchase (following established purchasing guidelines) shall be made by the professional staff at the site. E. Donated resources shall meet the criteria outlined in this procedure. F. Selection is an ongoing process that includes replacement, including the removal of resources no longer appropriate and the replacement of lost and worn resources of continuing educational value. G. Educational resources such as rental video tapes, DVDs, streamed, and privately owned or borrowed resources not purchased by Guilford County Schools, shall meet the criteria outlined in this procedure. H. Digital resources including cloud-based materials shall meet the criteria outlined in this procedure as well as in Board Administrative Policy and Procedure EFE and EFE-P. GUIDING PRINCIPLES A. Educational resources may include, but are not limited to, textbooks, other books, supplementary reading and informational materials, periodicals, newspapers, charts, community resource people, agencies, programs, machine-readable data files and other information services, kits, maps, microforms, motion pictures, realia, slides, sound and video recordings, plays, concerts, athletic events, and written and performed music. B. The principal of each school shall conduct an annual review of the selection policy and procedures with the school staff. C. A parent or guardian may request an alternate assignment for his/her child if the selected supplementary resource is determined personally offensive or too mature for the student. In order to exercise this option, the parent/guardian should contact the teacher and discuss the objections to the selected resource. After conversing with the teacher, the parent may opt to allow his/her child to read or view the selection or the parent may choose to submit a written request for his/her student to be given an alternative assignment. (Note: Alternative assignments will require independent work due to the inability to have class discussions and collaborative assignments with peers. The optional IB Programme must adhere to rigorous international guidelines; therefore, alternatives will be limited.) D. Access to challenged resources shall not be restricted during the review process. PROCEDURES FOR ADDRESSING CHALLENGED EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Educational resources may be challenged by students, employees, parents or guardians for whom the resources were selected, hereafter the “complainant(s),” and the following procedures shall be utilized. The educational resources shall remain in use during the challenge. School Site A. The school official or staff member initially receiving the expression of concern shall 1. listen to the concern 2. explain the selection policy, procedures, and the criteria used for the selection of resources 3. in the case of an instructional resource, encourage complainant to meet with the teacher to discuss concern 4. offer an appropriate alternative resource, if requested B. If the concern has not been resolved and a request is made for the removal or restriction of a resource, the use of the STATEMENT OF CONCERN ABOUT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES form shall be explained to the person expressing the concern, and the following steps will be taken to initiate a formal complaint: 1. The principal or designee will provide the complainant with a copy of this policy and the Statement of Concern about Educational Resources Form, located at the end of this document. 2. Upon the receipt of the signed Statement of Concern about Educational Resources Form, the principal or designee will indicate the date of receipt and within five (5) school days will forward a copy of the Statement of Concern form to the school’s Media and Technology Advisory Committee chairperson. 3. The principal or designee will send written confirmation of the receipt to the complainant within five (5) school days. (Complaints are not acted upon or accepted when the school is not in session. Summer reading complaints must be submitted at least five (5) school days prior to the last day of school or at the beginning of the next school year). 4. The principal will inform the appropriate central office personnel of the formal complaint. C. Upon receipt of a signed STATEMENT OF CONCERN ABOUT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES form, the school’s MTAC chairperson must inform the committee that a formal complaint has been received. 1. The committee chairperson will establish the date, time, and expected length for an open meeting (no more than one hour) within fifteen (15) school days of the receipt date of the original Statement of Concern. The purpose of the meeting is for the committee to discuss the questioned resource, determine the value as an educational resource, and reach a decision. 2. Committee members will be provided a copy of the challenged resource to read and review. 3. In the event that multiple resources are challenged, committee members will be allowed fifteen (15) school days per resource to read and review. 4. Prior to the meeting, committee members must: · Read, review, view or listen to the challenged material in its entirety. · Read reviews from professional reviewing sources (e.g., Booklist, School Library Journal, National Council of Teachers of English). · Read the Statement of Concern about Educational Resources Form submitted by the complainant. 5. The committee chairperson will invite the complainant and staff member involved to the meeting. The complainant and staff member involved each will be permitted to give a presentation of up to ten (10) minutes before the committee’s deliberation. 6. The meeting will be open to the public. D. Media and Technology Advisory Committee Challenge Meeting Procedures 1. Start the challenge meeting at the scheduled time. 2. At the beginning of the challenge meeting, the chairperson will introduce the committee members, complainant, and staff member involved. 3. The chairperson will briefly describe the challenge procedure. 4. The chairperson will describe the procedure that will be followed in the MTAC meeting. 5. Presentations will be made in the following order: 1. Complainant (the individual requesting the meeting) 2. The staff member involved 6. The complainant and the staff member involved each may give a presentation of up to ten (10) minutes; may remain for the duration of the meeting; and must not speak unless questioned by a committee member. 7. Each committee member will be asked to express his/her point of view about the educational value and suitability of the resource. Committee members will form opinions based on the resource as a whole rather than on isolated passages or selections taken out of context. 8. The meeting may be adjourned and continued to a date within five (5) school days to provide time for committee members to further study the material or to secure further information. 9. The committee will make a recommendation to the principal on the retention of the resource, removal of the resource, or restrictions on the resource. E. Upon completion of the review process, the MTAC chair shall within five (5) school days, prepare and file the report of the MTAC with the superintendent or designee and provide copies to the person expressing concern, to the principal, to the staff member involved, and to all committee members. The written report, signed by all members of the committee, accompanied by any written materials used during the proceedings, and minority reports, if any, shall be retained by the school and the superintendent/designee as the official record of the case. Any written materials including written votes or exchanges are considered part of the record. F. The complainant and the staff member involved will receive written notification of the committee’s decision within five (5) school days. Information regarding appeal rights will be included in the complainant’s notification. If the complainant is not satisfied with the Media and Technology Advisory Committee’s decision, a Signed Statement of Concern about Educational Resources Appeal Form may be filed within five (5) school days from receiving the written notification of the committee’s decision. G. The superintendent will forward the appeal form to the District Review Committee (DRC) and the District Review Committee will serve as the superintendent’s review panel. H. The District Review Committee must convene within fifteen (15) school days of receiving notice of the complainant’s request for an appeal meeting. The District Review Committee chairperson will notify the principal, the complainant and staff member involved of the date, location, time and expected length of the appeal meeting. DISTRICT REVIEW COMMITTEE A. District Review Committee (DRC) members shall be appointed by the superintendent or designee for one-year renewable terms and shall be a standing committee of the district. Members of the committee shall be representatives of the following groups: 1. a parent/community member from each school level (elementary, middle, high—total 3) – may serve 3 consecutive terms 2. one teacher from each school level (elementary, middle, high—total 3) - may serve 3 consecutive terms 3. one school media specialist from each school level (elementary, middle, high—total 3) – may serve 3 consecutive terms 4. one site-based administrator from each school level school (elementary, middle, high—total 3) – may serve 3 consecutive terms 5. one certified staff member of the district media office - 1 (may serve no more than 2 consecutive terms) 6. two certified staff members of the district instructional office - (may serve no more than 2 consecutive terms) 7. one high school student - 1 (may serve no more than 1 year) 8. superintendent or designee – 1 (non-voting member) Nominations for the committee are accepted in August. An alternate from each of the above categories may be selected at the same time as regular members in order to provide for a replacement pool, if a regular member needs to be excused from a particular review. Principals will submit nominations for administrators, parents, teachers, and high school students to the superintendent/designee. The superintendent/designee will randomly select names from the nominations to serve on the DRC while ensuring an equitable representation from the district. The chair of this district review committee will report to the board of education, following appointment by the superintendent/designee. B. An organizational meeting shall be held early in the school year to elect a chair and a recorder and to review these procedures. Other meetings shall be held as indicated by the superintendent or designee. C. When a concern about a resource is appealed to the superintendent, the DRC chairperson must inform the DRC that an appeal has been filed. 1. The DRC chairperson will establish the date, time, location, and expected length for the meeting (no more than one hour). 2. The DRC chairperson must arrange an open meeting of the committee within fifteen (15) school days of the receipt date of the appeal form to discuss the questioned resource, determine the value as an educational resource, and reach a decision. 3. A quorum of nine members is required at all meetings when a decision is to be made regarding a challenged resource; a majority vote of those present will be needed to establish the committee's action. 4. Prior to the meeting, DRC members must · Read, view, or listen to the challenged material in its entirety · Read reviews from professional reviewing sources · Read the Statement of Concern About Educational Resources Appeal Form submitted by the complainant 5. The DRC chairperson will invite the complainant and staff member involved to the meeting. The complainant and staff member involved each will be permitted to make a presentation for up to ten (10) minutes before the committee’s deliberation. 6. The meeting will be open to the public. D. District Review Committee Challenge Meeting Procedures 1. Start the challenge meeting at the scheduled time. 2. At the beginning of the challenge meeting the DRC chairperson will introduce the committee members, complainant, and the staff member involved. 3. The DRC chairperson will briefly describe the challenge procedure. 4. The DRC chairperson will describe the procedure that will be followed in the DRC meeting. 5. Presentations will be made in the following order: · Complainant (the individual requesting the meeting) · The staff member involved 6. The complainant and the staff member involved may give a presentation of no more than ten (10) minutes; may remain for the duration of the meeting; and must not speak unless questioned by a committee member. 7. Each DRC member will be asked to express his/her point of view about the educational value of the resource. 8. Each DRC member will be asked to evaluate the resource according to selection criteria described in this procedure. 9. The meeting may be adjourned and continued to a date within five (5) school days to provide time for committee members to further study the material or secure further information. 10. The committee will make a recommendation to the Superintendent on the retention of the resource, removal of the resource, or restrictions on the resource. E. Committee members directly involved with a challenged resource shall notify the chairperson, in advance, of a scheduled session when any conflict arises and shall, for that incident only, be replaced by an alternate designated by the chairperson. F. The recorder shall be responsible for record keeping and filing all required reports at the district administrative office. G. All meetings of the DRC shall be open to the public. However, the meeting is not a "public hearing" and the may decide whom to hear, and establish and enforce rules of decorum. H. Upon completion of the review process, the chair of the DRC and recorder shall prepare and file the report of the DRC with the superintendent within five (5) school days and provide copies to the person expressing concern, to the principal, to the staff member involved and to all committee members. The written report, signed by the chair and recorder, accompanied by any written materials used during the proceedings, and minority reports, if any, shall be retained as the official record of the case by the school and the superintendent/designee. I. The decision of the committee will apply only to the school from which the complaint originated. J. The decision of the DRC may be appealed by either party to the Board by filing the appeal form with the superintendent or designee within five (5) school days of the receipt of the written report. When an appeal is received, the superintendent or designee will schedule an appeal meeting with the Board. Prior to the meeting, Board of Education members will be asked to read, view, or listen to the challenged material in its entirety. K. In accordance with GS 115C-98 (bl), “The local board, at all times has the sole authority and discretion to determine whether a challenge has merit and whether challenged material should be retained or removed.” L. Challenges which complete the process through the Board or are not pursued in accordance with timelines are considered final, and no further appeals of the material based on like circumstances should be considered for a period of two years.
GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS STATEMENT OF CONCERN ABOUT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (IFA-P) Please return this completed form to the site administrator/school principal. Your Name _______________________________________________________________________________ Date________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________ City____________________________ State________ Zip__________ Phone _________________ 1. Resource on which you are commenting: ____Book ____Audiovisual Resource ____Magazine ____Content of program ____Newspaper ____Other (specify) Title ____________________________________________________________________________________ Author/Producer __________________________________________________________________________ Date of Publication________________________ School owning resource ____________________________________________ Course ___________________ Grade Level _________ 2. What brought this resource to your attention? 3. Please comment on the resource as a whole, being specific on those matters which concern you. (If more space is needed, please continue on back.) 4. Action requested to resolve this concern: a. removal from classroom curriculum (remains in the media center) _______ b. removal from the school (classroom and media center) ________ ______________________________________________________ (signature of person filing statement of concern) Revision 5/2013
GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS STATEMENT OF CONCERN ABOUT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES APPEAL FORM (IFA-P) (Submit to the Superintendent or designee.) Guilford County Board of Education Administrative Procedure Your Name ___________________________________________________________________________________ Date____________________________________ Address______________________________________________________________ City______________________________State_____ Zip______ Phone__________ _______I am appealing the decision of the Media Advisory Committee to the Superintendent (District Review Committee). _______I am appealing the decision of the District Review Committee to the Board of Education. 1. Resource on which you are commenting: ____Book ____Audiovisual Resource ____Magazine ____Content of program ____Newspaper ____Other (specify) Title ___________________________________________________________________________________ Author/Producer __________________________________________________________________________ Date of Publication ________________________________________________________________________ School owning resource: ___________________________________________________________________ Course ___________________ Grade Level _________ 2. What brought this resource to your attention?_________________________________________________ 3. Please comment on the resource as a whole, being specific on those matters which concern you. (If more space is needed, please continue on back.) 4. Action requested to resolve this concern: a. removal from classroom curriculum (remains in the media center) _______ b. removal from the school (classroom and media center) ________ __________________________________________________ (signature of person filing appeal) Date Received by the Superintendent Date Received by the Board of Education Revision 5/2013 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES The Administration believes that suitability is the major criterion for the selection of educational resources. The professional staff must use professional selection criteria and educational relevance rather than personal opinions, values, and beliefs in the selection of resources. Materials selected for media center or classroom use must fulfill a curricular or leisure reading need, and meet the following criteria: A. Educational resources should (criteria not ranked): 1. be selected according to the general educational goals of the school district, the goals and objectives of the individual schools and specific courses. 2. be appropriate for the age, interests, abilities, learning styles, social development, and maturity levels of the students. 3. provide information to motivate students and staff to examine their own attitudes and behavior, to comprehend their duties, responsibilities, rights, and privileges as participating citizens in our society, and to make informed judgments in their daily lives. 4. represent the diversity of religious, ethnic, political, and cultural values held in a pluralistic society. 5. illustrate the contributions made by various groups to our national heritage and to the world. 6. illustrate historical and contemporary forces in society to enable users to recognize and understand social, economic, personal, and political problems. 7. provide various points of view about issues, including those considered to be controversial. 8. represent various theories about the physical environment and the universe. B. Media specialists and teachers should consider: 1. reputable, unbiased selection tools and arrange, when possible, for firsthand examination of resources to be purchased. 2. technical quality and physical condition appropriate to format and intended use. 3. scope, arrangement, and organization, relevance of information, special features, and overall value to the collection. 4. selection of resources for specific courses to be consistent with the educational goals for the district, the objectives of the course, and the characteristics of the students. PROCEDURES FOR SELECTION OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES The Guilford County Board of Education delegates the responsibility for coordinating the selection of instructional resources and recommendation for purchase to the Superintendent and/or his designee, the principals, the teachers and the professional media personnel in the administrative unit. The administration is committed to receiving input from the faculty, staff, students, parents and the community in the selection of educational resources. To achieve this goal, each school shall establish a Media and Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC). At the local school level, the principal, as the instructional leader, shall designate an MTAC which will meet no fewer than three times a year. The MTAC shall to include the principal or designee, a media specialist (who will chair the committee), teacher representatives from grade levels and all program areas, as well as parent representation, and may include student representation at elementary and middle levels; and shall include student representation at the high school level. Annual training or duties and responsibilities will be provided. A. When examining resources for the media center, media specialists, and teachers should evaluate available and newly proposed resources, assess curriculum needs, consider networking arrangements, and consult reputable, professional reviews for selection. Whenever possible, the actual item should be previewed or examined and judged as a whole. B. When examining resources for classroom instruction, media specialists, MTAC, and teachers should evaluate available and newly proposed resources, assess curriculum needs, consider networking arrangements, and consult reputable, professional reviews for selection. The actual item shall be previewed or examined and judged as a whole. The school’s media special will secure signatures on the booklist addition form and send it to the Office of Curriculum and Instruction before the resource is assigned to students. C. The use of video in the classroom should be: 1. largely limited to those owned by the school, with the exception of those supported through online district licenses, or approved in advance by the administration. 2. used to support objectives in the Common Core State Standards and the North Carolina Essential Standards. 3. shown as brief clips for discussion or illustration. 4. shown in entirety only when the educational value is clearly merited and approved by administration. 5. in alignment with other principles established in this procedure. D. Recommendations for purchase may be made by administrators, teachers, students, district personnel, and community persons. Decisions to purchase (following established purchasing guidelines) shall be made by the professional staff at the site. E. Donated resources shall meet the criteria outlined in this procedure. F. Selection is an ongoing process that includes replacement, including the removal of resources no longer appropriate and the replacement of lost and worn resources of continuing educational value. G. Educational resources such as rental video tapes, DVDs, streamed, and privately owned or borrowed resources not purchased by Guilford County Schools, shall meet the criteria outlined in this procedure. H. Digital resources including cloud-based materials shall meet the criteria outlined in this procedure as well as in Board Administrative Policy and Procedure EFE and EFE-P. GUIDING PRINCIPLES A. Educational resources may include, but are not limited to, textbooks, other books, supplementary reading and informational materials, periodicals, newspapers, charts, community resource people, agencies, programs, machine-readable data files and other information services, kits, maps, microforms, motion pictures, realia, slides, sound and video recordings, plays, concerts, athletic events, and written and performed music. B. The principal of each school shall conduct an annual review of the selection policy and procedures with the school staff. C. A parent or guardian may request an alternate assignment for his/her child if the selected supplementary resource is determined personally offensive or too mature for the student. In order to exercise this option, the parent/guardian should contact the teacher and discuss the objections to the selected resource. After conversing with the teacher, the parent may opt to allow his/her child to read or view the selection or the parent may choose to submit a written request for his/her student to be given an alternative assignment. (Note: Alternative assignments will require independent work due to the inability to have class discussions and collaborative assignments with peers. The optional IB Programme must adhere to rigorous international guidelines; therefore, alternatives will be limited.) D. Access to challenged resources shall not be restricted during the review process. PROCEDURES FOR ADDRESSING CHALLENGED EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Educational resources may be challenged by students, employees, parents or guardians for whom the resources were selected, hereafter the “complainant(s),” and the following procedures shall be utilized. The educational resources shall remain in use during the challenge. School Site A. The school official or staff member initially receiving the expression of concern shall 1. listen to the concern 2. explain the selection policy, procedures, and the criteria used for the selection of resources 3. in the case of an instructional resource, encourage complainant to meet with the teacher to discuss concern 4. offer an appropriate alternative resource, if requested B. If the concern has not been resolved and a request is made for the removal or restriction of a resource, the use of the STATEMENT OF CONCERN ABOUT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES form shall be explained to the person expressing the concern, and the following steps will be taken to initiate a formal complaint: 1. The principal or designee will provide the complainant with a copy of this policy and the Statement of Concern about Educational Resources Form, located at the end of this document. 2. Upon the receipt of the signed Statement of Concern about Educational Resources Form, the principal or designee will indicate the date of receipt and within five (5) school days will forward a copy of the Statement of Concern form to the school’s Media and Technology Advisory Committee chairperson. 3. The principal or designee will send written confirmation of the receipt to the complainant within five (5) school days. (Complaints are not acted upon or accepted when the school is not in session. Summer reading complaints must be submitted at least five (5) school days prior to the last day of school or at the beginning of the next school year). 4. The principal will inform the appropriate central office personnel of the formal complaint. C. Upon receipt of a signed STATEMENT OF CONCERN ABOUT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES form, the school’s MTAC chairperson must inform the committee that a formal complaint has been received. 1. The committee chairperson will establish the date, time, and expected length for an open meeting (no more than one hour) within fifteen (15) school days of the receipt date of the original Statement of Concern. The purpose of the meeting is for the committee to discuss the questioned resource, determine the value as an educational resource, and reach a decision. 2. Committee members will be provided a copy of the challenged resource to read and review. 3. In the event that multiple resources are challenged, committee members will be allowed fifteen (15) school days per resource to read and review. 4. Prior to the meeting, committee members must: · Read, review, view or listen to the challenged material in its entirety. · Read reviews from professional reviewing sources (e.g., Booklist, School Library Journal, National Council of Teachers of English). · Read the Statement of Concern about Educational Resources Form submitted by the complainant. 5. The committee chairperson will invite the complainant and staff member involved to the meeting. The complainant and staff member involved each will be permitted to give a presentation of up to ten (10) minutes before the committee’s deliberation. 6. The meeting will be open to the public. D. Media and Technology Advisory Committee Challenge Meeting Procedures 1. Start the challenge meeting at the scheduled time. 2. At the beginning of the challenge meeting, the chairperson will introduce the committee members, complainant, and staff member involved. 3. The chairperson will briefly describe the challenge procedure. 4. The chairperson will describe the procedure that will be followed in the MTAC meeting. 5. Presentations will be made in the following order: 1. Complainant (the individual requesting the meeting) 2. The staff member involved 6. The complainant and the staff member involved each may give a presentation of up to ten (10) minutes; may remain for the duration of the meeting; and must not speak unless questioned by a committee member. 7. Each committee member will be asked to express his/her point of view about the educational value and suitability of the resource. Committee members will form opinions based on the resource as a whole rather than on isolated passages or selections taken out of context. 8. The meeting may be adjourned and continued to a date within five (5) school days to provide time for committee members to further study the material or to secure further information. 9. The committee will make a recommendation to the principal on the retention of the resource, removal of the resource, or restrictions on the resource. E. Upon completion of the review process, the MTAC chair shall within five (5) school days, prepare and file the report of the MTAC with the superintendent or designee and provide copies to the person expressing concern, to the principal, to the staff member involved, and to all committee members. The written report, signed by all members of the committee, accompanied by any written materials used during the proceedings, and minority reports, if any, shall be retained by the school and the superintendent/designee as the official record of the case. Any written materials including written votes or exchanges are considered part of the record. F. The complainant and the staff member involved will receive written notification of the committee’s decision within five (5) school days. Information regarding appeal rights will be included in the complainant’s notification. If the complainant is not satisfied with the Media and Technology Advisory Committee’s decision, a Signed Statement of Concern about Educational Resources Appeal Form may be filed within five (5) school days from receiving the written notification of the committee’s decision. G. The superintendent will forward the appeal form to the District Review Committee (DRC) and the District Review Committee will serve as the superintendent’s review panel. H. The District Review Committee must convene within fifteen (15) school days of receiving notice of the complainant’s request for an appeal meeting. The District Review Committee chairperson will notify the principal, the complainant and staff member involved of the date, location, time and expected length of the appeal meeting. DISTRICT REVIEW COMMITTEE A. District Review Committee (DRC) members shall be appointed by the superintendent or designee for one-year renewable terms and shall be a standing committee of the district. Members of the committee shall be representatives of the following groups: 1. a parent/community member from each school level (elementary, middle, high—total 3) – may serve 3 consecutive terms 2. one teacher from each school level (elementary, middle, high—total 3) - may serve 3 consecutive terms 3. one school media specialist from each school level (elementary, middle, high—total 3) – may serve 3 consecutive terms 4. one site-based administrator from each school level school (elementary, middle, high—total 3) – may serve 3 consecutive terms 5. one certified staff member of the district media office - 1 (may serve no more than 2 consecutive terms) 6. two certified staff members of the district instructional office - (may serve no more than 2 consecutive terms) 7. one high school student - 1 (may serve no more than 1 year) 8. superintendent or designee – 1 (non-voting member) Nominations for the committee are accepted in August. An alternate from each of the above categories may be selected at the same time as regular members in order to provide for a replacement pool, if a regular member needs to be excused from a particular review. Principals will submit nominations for administrators, parents, teachers, and high school students to the superintendent/designee. The superintendent/designee will randomly select names from the nominations to serve on the DRC while ensuring an equitable representation from the district. The chair of this district review committee will report to the board of education, following appointment by the superintendent/designee. B. An organizational meeting shall be held early in the school year to elect a chair and a recorder and to review these procedures. Other meetings shall be held as indicated by the superintendent or designee. C. When a concern about a resource is appealed to the superintendent, the DRC chairperson must inform the DRC that an appeal has been filed. 1. The DRC chairperson will establish the date, time, location, and expected length for the meeting (no more than one hour). 2. The DRC chairperson must arrange an open meeting of the committee within fifteen (15) school days of the receipt date of the appeal form to discuss the questioned resource, determine the value as an educational resource, and reach a decision. 3. A quorum of nine members is required at all meetings when a decision is to be made regarding a challenged resource; a majority vote of those present will be needed to establish the committee's action. 4. Prior to the meeting, DRC members must · Read, view, or listen to the challenged material in its entirety · Read reviews from professional reviewing sources · Read the Statement of Concern About Educational Resources Appeal Form submitted by the complainant 5. The DRC chairperson will invite the complainant and staff member involved to the meeting. The complainant and staff member involved each will be permitted to make a presentation for up to ten (10) minutes before the committee’s deliberation. 6. The meeting will be open to the public. D. District Review Committee Challenge Meeting Procedures 1. Start the challenge meeting at the scheduled time. 2. At the beginning of the challenge meeting the DRC chairperson will introduce the committee members, complainant, and the staff member involved. 3. The DRC chairperson will briefly describe the challenge procedure. 4. The DRC chairperson will describe the procedure that will be followed in the DRC meeting. 5. Presentations will be made in the following order: · Complainant (the individual requesting the meeting) · The staff member involved 6. The complainant and the staff member involved may give a presentation of no more than ten (10) minutes; may remain for the duration of the meeting; and must not speak unless questioned by a committee member. 7. Each DRC member will be asked to express his/her point of view about the educational value of the resource. 8. Each DRC member will be asked to evaluate the resource according to selection criteria described in this procedure. 9. The meeting may be adjourned and continued to a date within five (5) school days to provide time for committee members to further study the material or secure further information. 10. The committee will make a recommendation to the Superintendent on the retention of the resource, removal of the resource, or restrictions on the resource. E. Committee members directly involved with a challenged resource shall notify the chairperson, in advance, of a scheduled session when any conflict arises and shall, for that incident only, be replaced by an alternate designated by the chairperson. F. The recorder shall be responsible for record keeping and filing all required reports at the district administrative office. G. All meetings of the DRC shall be open to the public. However, the meeting is not a "public hearing" and the may decide whom to hear, and establish and enforce rules of decorum. H. Upon completion of the review process, the chair of the DRC and recorder shall prepare and file the report of the DRC with the superintendent within five (5) school days and provide copies to the person expressing concern, to the principal, to the staff member involved and to all committee members. The written report, signed by the chair and recorder, accompanied by any written materials used during the proceedings, and minority reports, if any, shall be retained as the official record of the case by the school and the superintendent/designee. I. The decision of the committee will apply only to the school from which the complaint originated. J. The decision of the DRC may be appealed by either party to the Board by filing the appeal form with the superintendent or designee within five (5) school days of the receipt of the written report. When an appeal is received, the superintendent or designee will schedule an appeal meeting with the Board. Prior to the meeting, Board of Education members will be asked to read, view, or listen to the challenged material in its entirety. K. In accordance with GS 115C-98 (bl), “The local board, at all times has the sole authority and discretion to determine whether a challenge has merit and whether challenged material should be retained or removed.” L. Challenges which complete the process through the Board or are not pursued in accordance with timelines are considered final, and no further appeals of the material based on like circumstances should be considered for a period of two years.
GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS STATEMENT OF CONCERN ABOUT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (IFA-P) Please return this completed form to the site administrator/school principal. Your Name _______________________________________________________________________________ Date________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________ City____________________________ State________ Zip__________ Phone _________________ 1. Resource on which you are commenting: ____Book ____Audiovisual Resource ____Magazine ____Content of program ____Newspaper ____Other (specify) Title ____________________________________________________________________________________ Author/Producer __________________________________________________________________________ Date of Publication________________________ School owning resource ____________________________________________ Course ___________________ Grade Level _________ 2. What brought this resource to your attention? 3. Please comment on the resource as a whole, being specific on those matters which concern you. (If more space is needed, please continue on back.) 4. Action requested to resolve this concern: a. removal from classroom curriculum (remains in the media center) _______ b. removal from the school (classroom and media center) ________ ______________________________________________________ (signature of person filing statement of concern) Revision 5/2013
GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS STATEMENT OF CONCERN ABOUT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES APPEAL FORM (IFA-P) (Submit to the Superintendent or designee.) Guilford County Board of Education Administrative Procedure Your Name ___________________________________________________________________________________ Date____________________________________ Address______________________________________________________________ City______________________________State_____ Zip______ Phone__________ _______I am appealing the decision of the Media Advisory Committee to the Superintendent (District Review Committee). _______I am appealing the decision of the District Review Committee to the Board of Education. 1. Resource on which you are commenting: ____Book ____Audiovisual Resource ____Magazine ____Content of program ____Newspaper ____Other (specify) Title ___________________________________________________________________________________ Author/Producer __________________________________________________________________________ Date of Publication ________________________________________________________________________ School owning resource: ___________________________________________________________________ Course ___________________ Grade Level _________ 2. What brought this resource to your attention?_________________________________________________ 3. Please comment on the resource as a whole, being specific on those matters which concern you. (If more space is needed, please continue on back.) 4. Action requested to resolve this concern: a. removal from classroom curriculum (remains in the media center) _______ b. removal from the school (classroom and media center) ________ __________________________________________________ (signature of person filing appeal) Date Received by the Superintendent Date Received by the Board of Education Revision 5/2013 | 
