Public Complaints Curriculum or Instructional Resources: KEC-R

District personnel or the Board will only consider complaints about instructional materials or library resources that are submitted in accordance with these procedures.

Standing

Only a parent/guardian of a student enrolled in the school for which the request is made may file a formal complaint under these procedures.

Complaint Process

1. Complaints should be initiated by contacting the principal of the school involved; a complainant who contacts a teacher, librarian/media specialist, or other school or district staff will be referred to the principal. The parties shall attempt to resolve the issue informally.
2. If the parent/guardian seeks to file a formal complaint, the principal will provide the complainant with a copy policy KEC, this regulation, and the “Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials or Library Resources” form (KEC-E) and ask that the form be filled out.
   1. Complaints must be filed within the same school year that the incident or concern that is the subject of the complaint occurred. Any complaint filed outside of this timeline shall not be considered. All complaints shall address one item per complaint. Any incomplete complaints or complaints addressing more than one item will be rejected and the complainant will be required to resubmit their complaint.
3. The District will not reconsider the same instructional material or library resource more than once every six years.
4. The District recognizes that students have a First Amendment right to receive information and have access to ideas, which includes their free selection of library resources.
5. The instructional material or library resources shall not be removed, discontinued or restricted as the result of a request for reconsideration until a final determination regarding the resource has been made available to the public.
6. A library staff member shall not be subject to termination, demotion, discipline, or retaliation for refusing to remove a library resource before it has been reviewed in accordance with policy KEC and this regulation or for making decisions that the library staff member believes, in good faith, are in accordance with policy KEC and this regulation.

Review Committee;

1. The superintendent will arrange for the establishment of a review committee that will consist of a District administrator and/or principal (one of whom will act as chair), District teachers, members of the District’s DAC or other parent or guardian representatives, community members, and recent graduates, if available. The total number of committee members will be set by the superintendent. The committee will receive appropriate training on evaluating complaints in accordance with board policy and procedure.
2. The review committee will examine the resource or material in question and render its recommendation as to the appropriateness of the resource or material within a reasonable time, but generally no longer than ninety (90) calendar days from receipt of the complaint. If additional time is required, the committee chair will inform all parties of the extenuating circumstances.

3. The procedure to be used by the review committee will be to:

   1. Read, view, or listen to the challenged material in its entirety

   2. Consider the material in light of the criteria set forth in Policy KEC and as follows:

      1. Contributes to the curriculum (as defined by the state standards) and supports the interests of the students
      2. Appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability level, language levels, and for the social, emotional, and intellectual development of the students for whom the materials are selected
      3. Provides a global perspective and promotes diversity by including materials by authors and illustrators of all cultures
      4. Readily found in reviews and recommendations of standard selection sources, including professional journal reviews and award lists
      5. Valid and accurate, for nonfiction
      6. Contributes to the breadth of materials for students to study issues that have political, economic, or social significance, represents differing viewpoints on controversial issues, and allows for critical analysis of issues
      7. Exhibits a high degree of potential user appeal and interest, including recommendations from digital literacy partners, district personnel, students and staff
      8. Meets high standards in literary, artistic, and aesthetic quality
      9. Demonstrates physical format, appearance, and durability commensurate with cost and/or need
      10. Shows timeliness or permanence of the content
      11. Despite its inclusion of content or language that may be considered offensive—graphic depictions of violence or sex, for example—the relative literary value of the material as a whole outweighs its potential to offend
   3. Hold a hearing including the complainant and any affected staff member (if applicable). If more than one complainant filed a formal complaint regarding the same material, the review committee may allow for multiple complainants to present their concerns to avoid holding multiple hearings. The review committee may invite other parties involved and/or experts in the area. The review committee may establish reasonable time, place, and manner requirements and other procedures in connection with the hearing as necessary.
   4. Make a recommendation using the consensus decision-making process
   5. Present its report and recommendation, in writing, to the superintendent, affected staff member(s) (if applicable), and to the complainant(s).

The superintendent will review the committee’s report and recommendation and shall issue a decision within a reasonable time, but generally not longer than thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the committee’s written recommendation. All parties will be notified in writing and the decision shall be made available to the public.

Appeal

If the complainant finds the superintendent’s decision unsatisfactory, they may make an appeal to the Board within five (5) school days of the date of the superintendent’s decision. Appeals must be made in writing to the Secretary of the Board and include a copy of the original complaint, the review committee’s report and recommendation, the superintendent’s decision, and a statement of the reason(s) for the appeal. If no appeal is filed within the above timeline, the determination of the superintendent shall be final.

The Board has the discretion whether to consider the appeal. If the Board accepts the appeal for consideration, then it will consider the appeal at a meeting held within thirty (30) calendar days after an appeal has been filed or at its next regular business meeting if no regular business meeting is scheduled within thirty (30) calendar days. All parties to the complaint will receive notice of the meeting at which the Board will consider the appeal and will have an opportunity to be heard during the meeting. The Board will issue a final determination in writing within ten (10) school days after this meeting unless additional time is needed. The Board’s decision will be final.

Adopted October 14, 1975

Revised 1978

Revised December 16, 1997

Revised February 13, 2014

Revised June 10, 2026

CROSS REFS.: IJ, Instructional Materials Selection

IJL, Library Resources Selection

CONTRACT REF.: BEA Master Agreement