Stockbridge and Great Barrington — In light of the “Gender Queer” book investigation and resulting controversy that started in December, the Berkshire Hills Regional School District reviewed an updated policy on complaints about the school curriculum and instructional and library materials at its meeting on Thursday, March 14.
Superintendent Peter Dillon said that the proposed policy changes were developed at the district’s Policy Subcommittee meetings with members of the public and school district librarians. The policy was reviewed for the first time at the March 14 meeting, and it has to be reviewed at two future meetings before board members have a chance to vote on it.
The proposed changes include substantial revisions and new sections, including one about how the district will handle public complaints about curricular and instructional materials. As listed in the draft policy:
The School Committee will not permit any individual or group to exercise censorship over instructional materials and library collections, but recognizes that at times a reevaluation of certain material may be desired.
A parent/guardian or a student may ask to not use the material that has been assigned to them. A request should be made to the teacher and/or Principal so they can arrange for use of an alternative material that meets essentially the same instructional purpose. This does not apply however, to basic program texts and materials that the School Committee has adopted.
The proposed policy changes would also change the way the school district would handle a complaint if it is not resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant. This would include the complainant filling out a “request of reconsideration of materials” form, the establishment of a standing material reviews committee, with the material called into question remaining in use during the reconsideration process:
By September 1st of each year, the principal of each school will appoint a standing materials review committee. The principal will serve as the chairperson of the committee, which will consist of the building librarian, at least two and up to three teachers/professional staff, a parent, a school committee member, and a student if age appropriate. When a completed Request for Materials Reconsideration form is returned to the teacher or principal, the materials review committee will convene to review the material in question.
The materials review committee will meet its obligations by viewing/listening/reading the resource in its entirety, taking into consideration purpose, relevance, content, appropriateness, and authenticity, as well as consulting professional reviews. The teacher whose material is under reconsideration will be asked to join the committee. The committee will come to consensus on whether the resource will be removed from the classroom and/or curriculum. Anyone on the committee with a conflict will be asked to recuse themselves from voting. This includes the teacher involved in the reconsideration. A written recommendation prepared by a designated member of the committee will document all sources and the committee’s decision.
The principal will deliver the written recommendation to the superintendent, who will make a final decision and present it to the school committee. The superintendent will communicate the decision to the individual within 30 days of the request submission.
Once the decision has been made regarding material, no further challenges of the same material will be considered for a period of five years.
An individual may only bring one challenge to one material at a time.
A separate process has been proposed for complaints about library materials:
Reconsideration requests will first be addressed to the librarian either verbally or in writing. If an individual first brings an issue to the attention of the administration or other staff member, it will be directly referred to the librarian.
If the request is communicated verbally, the librarian will write down the concern and verify its accuracy with the individual bringing the challenge.
The librarian will review the resource in question, provide a printed copy of the district Library Media Center Materials Selection Policy to the individual, and discuss concerns in person or via phone.
The school district would proceed to use a process similar to how it handles public complaints about curricular and instructional materials, including a review by the standing materials review committee.
At the March 14 meeting, Chair Stephen Bannon said that, if needed, there would be one material review committee established at each of the three district schools. “After the committee makes a decision, the principal will bring the committee’s recommendation to the Superintendent [Peter Dillon], who will make the final decision,” Bannon said. “I think this is the right way to do it. Our superintendent is the one who makes the final decision. We should leave educational decisions to the educators, and it always helps us when we do that and we don’t muddle it up.”
Bannon emphasized that the proposed changes would include limits. “We’re limiting the challenges to once [per challenge] and one [challenge on a specific book or material] within a five-year period so we’re not going to have continual challenges,” Bannon said. “Our previous [complaint] form was a little hard to understand, and [the proposed form] is much clearer. This form requires all sections to be filled in, so there will be no anonymous complaints. We want to know who complains so we can talk to them, and if we have questions or concerns about what their complaint really is, we can ask them.”
On the March 14 meeting’s agenda was an item for the committee to review a revision of the school district’s “Relations with Police Authorities” policy. However, Dillon told the committee that the revised policy was still being developed and was not ready for review.
Click here for the draft revisions of the policy on complaints about the school curriculum and instructional and library materials.
