In accordance with Board of Education Policies I-211 and I-241, there may be questions concerning some instructional and library materials. Parent(s) or legal guardian(s) may request in writing that a student will be required to read a book, use certain materials, or participate in an activity. Schools will make reasonable attempts to resolve these questions informally, through alternate assignments or other mutually agreeable measures. If these measures cannot adequately address the concern, a formal request for reconsideration may be made.

SUBMITTING FORMAL REQUESTS FOR RECONSIDERATION

A student, a student’s parent or legal guardian, or a school employee may provide feedback regarding materials in the library collection or another instructional setting of the student’s or employee’s school. This feedback may be submitted as a formal request for reconsideration through the following steps:

1. The student, student’s parent or legal guardian, or school employee will inform their school’s Principal of their intent to formally request reconsideration of one (1) or more materials.
2. The Principal will inform the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, who will in turn notify the Assistant Superintendent of Academics, the Chief of Staff, and the Supervisor of Academic Resources.
3. The Executive Director of Teaching and Learning will contact the complainant, ensure that he or she is aware of the selection procedures for instructional materials and request the complainant to submit a formal “Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials” (MC-114A) for each individual material concerned.
4. Upon receipt of the completed MC-114A form, the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning will review it for completeness and adherence to the established procedure.

MATERIAL REVIEW PROCESS

Following review of the written complaint, the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning will contact the Principal of the appropriate school to initiate a review of the material. A determination on the review is to be reported within sixty (60) days of receiving the completed MC-114A form.

Upon being contacted by the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, the Principal will establish a school-level ad hoc materials review committee to complete a review of the challenged material. The Principal will appoint a committee chair, and ensure the committee includes, as a minimum, one or more member from each of the following categories:

1. Administrators
2. Certified school librarians
3. Classroom teachers
4. Parents

At the discretion of the Principal as to age and maturity, the review committee may optionally include one or more student members. Informed parental consent should be obtained in writing for student(s) serving on a review committee.

Challenged materials will continue to be available for use during the reconsideration process.

The review committee shall take the following steps after receiving the request for reconsideration and the challenged materials:

1. Read, view and/or listen to the material in its entirety;
2. Check general acceptance of the material by reading recognized and evaluative reviews;
3. Determine the extent to which the material supports the curriculum;
4. Complete the appropriate "Instructional Materials Reconsideration Review" (Form MC-114B) judging the material for its strength and value; and
5. Present a recommendation to the Principal.

The Principal will compile all materials reviewed, the completed MC-114Bs from each committee member, and any other pertinent material generated by the committee. The Principal will submit this information along with a summary memorandum to the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning. The memorandum will summarize the committee’s work and present the findings and justification for the recommendation(s) of the committee.

A district review committee comprised of the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, Supervisor of Academic Resources, and Assistant Superintendent of Academics will review the material for completeness, and thoroughness, adherence to the established administrative procedure, and possible districtwide impact(s). They will then complete the "District Summary Report" (MC-114C) and report the recommendation to the Board of Education at a regularly scheduled meeting. The district's final determination concerning the use of a controversial material shall rest with the Board of Education. The complainant will be provided with written notification of the Board of Education's determination.

STATE-LEVEL APPEALS

If concern cannot be adequately resolved through the district's local reconsideration procedure, it may be referred to the Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission² for further action in either of two ways:

1. If a determination Is not made within sixty (60) days from the date on which the feedback was formally received, the student, parent/guardian, or school employee who submitted the feedback may request the State Commission to evaluate the material.
2. After a determination has been made, a student, student's parent or legal guardian, or employee may request to appeal it to the State Commission within five (5) days of the report of determination.

LIMITATIONS

The following limitations are to be observed in the implementation of this procedure:

1. Materials that have already been reviewed by through the process outlined above may be reviewed again after three (3) years of the previous review.
2. Individual students, employees, or parents/guardians may only file no more than two (2) requests for reconsideration within one (1) year timeframe.
3. Individual students, employees, or parents/guardians may request to review only one (1) item with each submission.

Knox County Schools will exercise due diligence to complete all reviews in a timely fashion according to the procedures outlined above. However, reasonable constraints in implementation may occasionally occur, such as insufficient copies of the materials available for review, or staff going off contract before a review is completed. If a delay in the process is experienced or anticipated, clear and timely communication about progress will be issued to the person requesting the review or appeal.

References:

1. T.C.A. § 49-6-3803.
2. Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission (2023). Retrieved from https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/textbook/commission/TBC_Library_Guidance_Document.pdf