Matters Regarding School Library Materials

If a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a school in the School Corporation or a community member residing within the Corporation submits a request to remove material that they contend is obscene or harmful to minors from a school library, the following procedure shall be followed:

A. The request is to be presented to the _elementary or secondary director, in writing, and shall include:

1. author;

2. title;

3. publisher;

4. sections objected to, by page and item;

5. reasons for objection.

B.Upon receipt of the information the _elementary and secondary director shall appoint a review committee which may consist of one or more professional staff members including the district media specialist;

C.The Superintendent shall be an ex officio member of the committee.

D.The review committee, in evaluating the questioned material, shall be guided by the following criteria:

1. the appropriateness of the material for the age and maturity level of the students who have access to it

2. the accuracy of the material

3. the objectivity of the material

4. the use being made of the material

E.The material in question may be withdrawn from use pending the review committee's recommendation to the Superintendent.

F.The review committee's recommendation shall be reported to the Superintendent in writing within ten (10) business days following the formation of the review committee. The Superintendent will advise the individual making the request, in writing, of the review committee's recommendation and advise the Board of the action taken or recommended.

G.The individual who filed the request may appeal this decision, within thirty (30) business days, to the Board through a written request to the Superintendent, who shall forward the request and all written material relating to the matter to the Board.

H.The Board shall review the request and decision at the next public meeting after an appeal is submitted. The Board shall advise the complainant, in writing, of its decision within thirty (30) business days.

No challenged material may be removed from the curriculum, school library, or from a collection of resource materials except by action of the Board, unless the requester fails to appeal the review committee's decision in a challenge to school library material, and no challenged material may be removed solely because it presents ideas that may be unpopular or offensive to some without it being obscene or harmful to minors. Any Board action to remove material will be accompanied by the Board's statement of its reasons for the removal.