In order to help fulfill the educational goals and objectives of the school system, the Craven County Board of Education strives to provide instructional materials that will enrich and support the curriculum and enhance student learning.  Instructional materials should be representative of the rich diversity of our nation and appropriate for the maturity levels and abilities of the students.

Instructional materials constitute all materials, whether print, non-print, digital, or any combination thereof, used in the instructional program.  For purposes of this policy, instructional materials will be divided into two categories:  primary and supplementary resources. 

A. Selection of Primary Educational Resources

Primary resources are systematically organized materials comprehensive enough to cover the objectives outlined in the current statewide instructional standards for a grade or course.  Formats for primary resources may be print, non-print, or digital media, including hardbound books, softbound books, activity-oriented programs, classroom kits, and technology-based programs or materials that require the use of electronic equipment in order to be used in the learning process.  Technology-based programs may include subscription or web-based materials.

State-approved primary educational resources will be used as the primary means to help students meet the goals and objectives of the current statewide instructional standards, unless the board approves alternative materials.  The curriculum instructional services division or a school through its school improvement plan may submit a request for the use of supplementary resources.  The request should identify how the curriculum instructional services division or school has ensured that the curriculum will continue to be aligned with the current statewide instructional standards and to meet the educational goals of the board.

B. Selection of Supplementary Resources

Supplementary resources are instructional and learning resources which are selected to complement, enrich, or extend the curriculum.  Such resources include, for example, specialized materials selected to meet diverse needs or rapidly changing circumstances, library materials, digital resources, the school system’s media collection, classroom collections, and teacher-selected resources for individual classes.

1. Objectives for Selection of Supplementary Resources

The procurement of resources must be accomplished in accordance with law, including the First Amendment of the United States Constitution; board educational goals; board purchasing and accounting policies; and established selection guidelines, including the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association.  The objectives for the selection of supplementary resources are as follows:

a. to provide a wide range of resources that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the individual needs and varied interests, abilities, socio-economic backgrounds, learning styles, and developmental levels of the students served;

b. to provide resources that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards;

c. to provide a background of information that will enable students to comprehend their role as citizens in society and to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives;

d. to provide resources representing various points of view on controversial issues so that students as young citizens may develop, under guidance, the skills of critical thinking and critical analysis;

e. to provide resources representative of the many religious, ethnic and cultural groups in our nation, and the contributions of these groups to our American heritage; and

f. to place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection of material of the highest quality in order to ensure a comprehensive collection appropriate for all users.

2. Process and Criteria for Selecting Supplementary Resources

The responsibility for the selection of supplementary resources is delegated to the professional staff under the direction of the superintendent and will be made primarily at the school level with the involvement of a school media and technology advisory committee.  The committee shall be appointed by the principal and will include teachers and instructional support personnel representing various subject areas and grade levels, parents, and, if on-staff in the school, the library media coordinator and the technology facilitator.  Students also should be involved when feasible. 

The selection process used by the committee will include:  (1) an evaluation of the existing collection; (2) an assessment of the available resource and curriculum needs of the school; and (3) consideration of individual teaching and learning styles.  In coordinating the selection of resources, the committee should use reputable, unbiased selection tools prepared by professional educators and should arrange, when possible, for firsthand examination of resources to be purchased.  When examining proposed materials, the committee should consider the following factors:

a. the resource’s overall purpose, educational significance, and direct relationship to instructional objectives and the curriculum and to the interests of the students;

b. the resource’s reliability, including the extent to which it is accurate, authentic, authoritative, up-to-date, unbiased, comprehensive, and well-balanced;

c. the resource’s technical quality, including the extent to which technical components are relevant to content and consistent with state-of-the-art capabilities;

d. the resource’s artistic, literary, and physical quality and format, including its durability, manageability, clarity, appropriateness, skillfulness, organization, and attractiveness;

e. the possible uses of the resource, including suitability for individual, small group, large group, introduction, in-depth study, remediation, and/or enrichment;

f. the contribution the resource will make to the collection’s breadth and variety of viewpoints;

g. recommendations of school personnel and students from all relevant departments and grade levels;

h. the reputation and significance of the resource’s author, producer, and publisher; and

i. the price of the material weighed against its value and/or the need for it.

3. Use of Digital Media as Supplementary Resources

Digital media plays an important role in the instructional program in the 21^st century.  As a result, the use of video clips and full-length movies shall comply with applicable copyright laws and local administrative guidelines.  Specifically, with respect to full-length movies, movies rated G and PG by the Motion Picture Association of America are approved for instructional use in grades K through 12.  Movies rated PG shall only be shown with parental permission.

In grades 9 through 12, the principal may approve the showing of videos rated PG-13.  Such videos may be shown only with parental permission.

All video use shall:

a. be aligned with curricular objectives;

b. adhere to all copyright laws;

c. limit the use of full-length movies to protect instructional time and mirror best instructional practice; and

d. be approved by the principal or designee, or, when appropriate, by the superintendent or designee, documented using the Video Approval Form (VAF).

4. Materials Brought in by Teachers

Principals shall establish rules concerning what materials may be brought in by teachers without review.  Principals are encouraged to involve the school improvement team in establishing these rules.

C. Removal of Outdated Supplementary Resources

To ensure that the supplementary media collection remains relevant, the media and technology professionals, assisted by the media and technology advisory committee, shall review resources routinely to determine if any resource is obsolete, outdated, or irrelevant.  The school media and technology advisory committee should remove resources no longer appropriate and replace lost, damaged, and worn resources still of educational value.  Resources may be removed only for legitimate educational reasons and subject to the limitations of the First Amendment.  The superintendent may establish regulations that provide additional standards for removing supplementary resources to meet the educational needs of the school system.  Requests by parents to remove supplementary media materials due to an objection to the materials will be reviewed pursuant to policy 3210, Parental Inspection of and Objection to Instructional Materials.

D. Acceptance of Gift Resources

Supplementary resources offered as a gift will be reviewed pursuant to the criteria outlined in this policy; policy 8220, Gifts and Bequests; and any regulations established by the superintendent.  Gift resource may be accepted or rejected by the board based upon such criteria.

In policy 3200, Selection of Instructional Materials, the Craven County Board of Education establishes a process for the selection of instructional materials to meet State Board of Education requirements and the educational goals of the board.  That process provides an opportunity for parental input in the selection of materials.

The board recognizes that despite the opportunity to participate in the selection of materials, parents still may have concerns about instructional materials used in the school system.  Thus, to further involve parents in the education of their children, the board also provides opportunities for parents to review instructional materials and a process for parents to use when they object to instructional materials. 

A. Parental Right to Inspect Materials

Parents may review all instructional materials, as defined in policy 3200, Selection of Instructional Materials. Instructional materials do not include academic tests or assessments.  Parents who would like to inspect and review instructional materials should make a request in writing to the principal. The principal shall schedule a mutually agreeable date and time for the parent to come into the school to review the materials. All efforts should be made to schedule the time as soon as possible but no later than 10 business days from the date of the request.  All materials used in reproductive health and safety education shall be available for review as provided in policy 3540, Comprehensive Health Education Program. 

B. Parental Objection to Materials

Parents may submit an objection in writing to the principal regarding the use of particular instructional materials in use at the school or schools in which their child or children are enrolled.  The principal shall have the school’s media technology committee (MTAC) review the objection.  While input from the community may be sought, the board believes professional educators are in the best position to determine whether a particular instructional material is appropriate for the age and maturity of the students and for the subject matter being taught.

If the school’s MTAC determines that any material violates constitutional or other legal rights of the parent or student, the MTAC shall either decide to remove the material from instructional use or to accommodate the particular student and parent.  Before any material is removed, the principal or the school’s MTAC shall ensure that the curriculum is still aligned with current statewide instructional standards and articulated from grade to grade.  If an objection made by a parent or student is not based upon constitutional or legal rights, the MTAC may accommodate the objection after considering the effect on the curriculum; any burden on the school, teacher, or other students that the accommodation would create; and any other relevant factors.  Books and other instructional materials may be removed from the school media collection only for legitimate educational reasons and subject to the limitations of the First Amendment.

If a parent objecting to the use of instructional materials is dissatisfied with the decision of the school’s MTAC, the parent should submit a written request for a review of the building level recommendation to the superintendent within one week of receiving the decision of the school’s MTAC.  The superintendent shall transmit the request to the district’s MTAC which will convene an Instructional Materials Review Committee to review the school MTAC’s decision.  After completing the review, the Instructional Materials Review Committee will submit its findings to the district’s MTAC who will provide its recommendation to the superintendent.

The Instructional Materials Review Committee will convene as necessary and draw from the following pool of individuals:

1. Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction

2. Directors of instruction connected to grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12;

3. Director of Digital & Blended Learning;

4. Director of Technology;

5. Systems Engineer

6. District Instructional Technology Facilitator assigned to school;

7. A media coordinator, principal, teacher, and parent from an elementary school or;

8. A media coordinator, principal, teacher, and parent from a middle school or;

9. A media coordinator, a principal, teacher, parent, and student from a high school or early college; and

10. Two elected members of the board appointed by the Chair.

The parent representatives will be selected from the members of the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Committee.

The Director of Digital & Blended Learning will serve as chair of the Instructional Materials Review Committee.  After receiving notice from the superintendent of a parent’s appeal of the decision of a school’s MTAC, Chairperson of the Instructional Materials Review Committee will notify the applicable members of the Instructional Materials Review Committee via e-mail of the appeal and will work with Committee members to review the challenged instructional material, the decision of the school’s MTAC, and the parent’s initial challenge and appeal.  The Instructional Materials Review Committee may elect to meet with the parent and chair of the school’s MTAC or may undertake its review based solely on the written materials submitted to the Instructional Materials Review Committee.  If a member of the Instructional Materials Review Committee does not respond to the chair after two attempts to email the member or if the member has a conflict of interest which prevents the member from acting as a neutral with regard to a particular challenge, the Committee will move forward in its review of the challenged material and make a recommendation to the superintendent without the member.

The decision of the Instructional Materials Review Committee may be appealed to the board. The principal shall keep the challenged material in use during the review and appeals period unless the principal determines in collaboration with the superintendent that continued availability and use of the material is likely to cause serious disruption of the educational process and alternative means of avoiding disruption would not be effective.

The superintendent shall develop the necessary administrative procedures to implement this policy.