POLICY NUMBER:
600.06
ADOPTED:
6.4.2024
Board Policy
- The Board of Education values a public education system dedicated to delivering a high-quality education to students and helping learners of all ages to be prepared for meaningful life opportunities. It is the mission of the Canyons Board of Education that every student will graduate college-and career ready. To achieve these ends, the Board of Education complies with all applicable laws and rules in governing selection and approval of instructional materials for use in schools to teach the Utah Core Standards (See, Policy—600.02—Instructional Materials).
- The Board of Education also recognizes the value of school library programs in supporting student instruction and preparing students to be college and career ready. Participation in school library programs supports a coherent and diverse instructional program with opportunities for developing student awareness regarding diverse viewpoints, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds beyond the classroom. The Board of Education encourages the development of a student body with an ability to weigh competing views and to draw informed conclusions. Access to and use of school library materials encourages individual student education and self-selected recreational reading. For these reasons, it is the policy of the Board of Education to see each student has equitable access and opportunity to participate in school library programs.
- The Board of Education recognizes school boards have broad discretion in the management of school affairs and selection of library materials for school libraries. The Board of Education adheres to Constitutional and First Amendment principles that do not permit suppression of ideas in school libraries. Similarly, the Board recognizes students do not shed their First Amendment rights of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate, and that the school library offers a place and opportunity for students to remain free to exercise their intellectual freedom and right to read, inquire, study, and evaluate, outside of the school classroom. At the same time, the Board of Education is sensitive to the reality that a school library is distinguishable from a public library and a classroom because of its unique role in the instructional program as it primarily supports the equitable access to information and the education of minors. The school library is generally open during school hours, but does not serve the general public. The school library program functions as an integral part of the school’s mission in the transmission of public education and community values. In balancing these responsibilities, the Board of Education respects Constitutional principles of law and recognizes the importance of community values in maintaining school library programs as part of the District’s educational system.
- The Board delegates responsibility for developing regulations for administering this policy to the District Administration, subject to review and approval by the Board.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
600.06-1
APPROVED:
6.4.2024
Definitions - 600.06-1
- Age Appropriate: generally suitable material for students of the same age or level of social, emotional, and cognitive development. The context and prevalence of violence, sex, language, and illegal substances as well as the social and cultural factors of the learning communities must be considered when selecting library materials.
- Challenger of Library Materials: a parent/legal guardian of an active student attending the school where the library material can be accessed.
- Challenger of Sensitive Material: an individual that submits a sensitive material review. A challenger may be an employee of the District, student of the District, parent of a student of the District, or a member of the Board of Education.
- Classroom Instructional Materials: materials intended for use by all CSD educators in all schools as the primary source of information for teaching the Utah Core Standards in a given course. Classroom instructional materials will include districtwide primary curriculum materials, supplemental materials, intervention materials, or teacher-selected materials. (See, Policy—600.02—Instructional Materials).
- De-selection: the systematic removal (i.e., weeding) of resources from a library based on selected criteria.
- District Administrator: a principal, a director-level employee or above (i.e., Student Services, Instructional Supports, School Performance), the Superintendent, or designee.
- District Appeal Committee: includes the Director of Instructional Supports or designee, a member of School Performance, a teacher librarian representing the school level from which the challenge comes, the District Library Specialist, and three parent/legal guardians from the feeder system. The District Appeal Committee will be established according to need.
- District Library Specialist: a licensed employee hired by the District to support school libraries and the work of teacher librarians and media instructional technicians in the District who periodically reports to the Board of Education on the status of libraries in the District.
- Library Materials: all books, pamphlets, magazines, audio/visual materials, software, electronic materials, subscriptions, online access, or other information accessible to students in or through a school library on a self-selected and voluntary basis.
- Library Staff: teacher librarians, media instructional technicians, and media assistant employees working in CSD school libraries.
- Media Assistant (secondary): an ESP employee media aide that performs a variety of services in the school library under the direction of the teacher librarian.
- Media Instructional Technician (elementary): an ESP employee working under the supervision of a principal and District Library Specialist assigned to the library.
- The Miller Test: Constitutional test for obscenity as developed in the Supreme Court case Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 1973 as codified in Utah Code 76-10-1203 (a)(b) and (c). A material or performance is pornographic if:
- (a) The average person, applying contemporary community standards, finds that, taken as a whole, it appeals to prurient interest in sex;
- (b) It is patently offensive in the description or depiction of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, sadomasochistic abuse, or excretion; and
- (c) Taken as a whole it does not have serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
- Objective Sensitive Material: instructional material that constitutes pornographic or indecent material, as that term is defined in Section 76-10-1235, under the non-discretionary standards described in Subsection 76-10-1227 (1)(a)(i),(ii) or (iii).
- Objective Sensitive Material Panel: a panel of three individuals responsible to engage in a review of instructional material using the objective sensitive material standards. The panel may consult with Legal Services and will include:
1. District Library Media Specialist or designee;
2. Director of Instructional Supports or designee; and
3. A School Performance Director. - School Committee: a school committee shall include a school administrator, a licensed teacher, a teacher librarian or the District Library Specialist for media instructional technician/assistants, two parent/legal guardian representatives, and a student representative where appropriate, at the discretion of the school administrator. A School Committee will be established according to need.
- A challenger of library materials shall not serve on the School Committee.
- School Library Program: the instructional objectives, activities, facilities, materials, and equipment used by library staff to provide information literacy instruction based on state and national standards and promote personal reading interests and safe media engagement.
- School setting: means, for a public school, in a classroom, in a school library, or on school property. School setting includes the following activities that an organization or individual or organization outside of a public school conducts, if a public school or the District sponsors the activity:
- an assembly;
- a guest lecture;
- a live presentation; or
- an event.
- Self-Selection of Library Materials: The principle that an individual student is responsible for selection of library materials in conjunction with the parent/legal guardian.
- Sensitive Material: means an instructional material that constitutes objective sensitive material or subjective sensitive material.
- Sensitive material does not include instructional material that the district selected under Utah Code 53G-10-402; for a concurrent enrollment course that contains sensitive material and for which a parent receives notice from the course provider of the material before enrollment of the parent’s child and give the parent’s consent by enrolling the parent’s child; for medical courses; for family and consumer courses; or for another course the state board exempts in board rule.
- Subjective Sensitive Material: instructional material that constitutes pornographic or indecent material, as that term is defined in Section 76-10-1235, under the following factor-balancing standards:
- material that is harmful to minors under Section 76-10-1201;
- material that is pornographic under Section 76-10-1203; or
- material that includes certain fondling or other erotic touching under Subsection 76-10-1227 (1)(a)(iv).
- Teacher Librarian: a licensed employee with a master’s degree or endorsement in library science assigned to teach at a school. A teacher librarian may lead a school library program, and manage a materials collection.
- Restricted Pending Review: means the status of a title in the District library collection that is not currently available to students.
- A title is placed on restricted pending review based on an allegation that the challenged instructional material constitutes sensitive material. The title is removed from the any school setting that provides student access to the challenged material until the District completes the objective sensitive material review of the challenged material.
- Unsuccessful Sensitive Material Challenge: means an allegation that a given instructional material constitutes sensitive material that the District concludes to be erroneous, either on direct review (i.e., objective sensitive material review and subjective sensitive material review) or on appeal to the Board, resulting in the retention of the given instructional material.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
600.06-2
APPROVED:
6.4.2024
Selection of Library Materials; Information regarding Library Acquisitions and Collection - 600.06-2
Selection of Library Materials
- Materials selected should support the core standards and interests of students, staff, and families, taking into account diverse interests, cultural perspectives, age levels, ability levels, learning styles, and social and emotional development levels. Materials should encourage appreciation for both informational and recreational reading, viewing, or listening.
- Selection of all purchased or donated library materials shall be based on age appropriateness for the emotional development, ability level, learning styles and intellectual development of the students for whom the materials are selected and on combination of five or more of the following criteria:
- Overall purpose and educational significance
- Contribution and relevance to the core standards
- Teacher, parent, and student request
- Factual content is accurate (e.g., reliable, verifiable, and credible).
- Timeliness and/ or permanence
- Favorable reviews, recommendations, and/or award nominees found in standard professional selection sources or from professional personnel
- Contributes to a balanced perspective
- Potential appeal and interest
- Recreational reading needs of students
- Artistic quality and literary style
- Reputation and significance of author, producer, publisher
- Uniqueness, diversity and /or heritage of the state, region or community
- Support of multi-lingual students
- Support of special needs students
- Support of advanced learners, and students enrolled in college credit earning courses (e.g., advanced placement and concurrent enrollment).
- Merit of the work as a whole.
- The selection of library materials at the school level is under the direction of the teacher librarian (secondary) and the District Library Specialist and Elementary library Coordinator in conjunction with library instructional technicians (elementary), and the school principal, staff, and others as appropriate. In making selections for materials, input from standard professional selection sources is considered (See, Section 2 above).
Information regarding Library Acquisitions and Collections
- Information regarding a school library’s collection is available from the individual school’s website via the online public access catalog.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
600.06-3
APPROVED:
6.4.2024
Library Materials Self-Selection - 600.06-3
Self-Selection
- Library materials are available on a self-selection basis. Library staff or other school personnel may assist in recommending library materials.
- Reading lists are available from many sources, and are not necessarily endorsed by the teacher librarian, school administration or district personnel.
- Responsibility for reading, listening and viewing library materials rests with the individual student and their parent/legal guardian.
- Library staff are available to consult with students and their parent/legal guardian to find appropriate materials. Staff is not responsible for the final selection.
- A student may place a hold (i.e., reserve a title for reading) on a specific title from the online public access catalog.
- If a parent/legal guardian wishes to restrict access to a specific title a parent/legal may make a written request to the school’s library staff.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
600.06-4
APPROVED:
6.4.2024
De-selection of Library Materials - 600.06-4
- De-selection is essential to maintain a current, relevant, up-to-date library collection.
- The library professional staff is responsible to periodically review the collection to determine which materials should be removed or replaced (i.e., de-selection).
- Criteria for de-selection of materials may include, but is not limited to:
- poor physical condition;
- superseded by more current information or contains subject matter no longer needed to support the curriculum;
- age appropriateness;
- encourages stereotypes or biases;
- objective sensitive material,
- subjective sensitive material;
- receiving little use; or
- provides wrong, inaccurate or dated information.
- Deselected materials are subject to the District’s procedures for surplused items.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
600.06-5
APPROVED:
6.4.2024
Challenge of Library Materials for Reasons for Other Than Sensitive Materials - 600.06-5
A parent/legal guardian of an active student attending the school where the library materials can be accessed may challenge the inclusion of materials with non-sensitive materials content through the Challenge of Library Materials process as an initial step (see, Exhibit 1). This process does not apply to primary instructional materials used by a classroom teacher. Those materials are governed by an adoption process by the Board of Education (See, Policy 600.02— Instructional Materials).
*Please Note: A Sensitive Materials/Review Challenge is addresses in Admin. Reg. 600.07
Challenge of Library Materials
- A challenger must submit a completed Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form to the school’s principal of the school where the library materials can be accessed.
- Upon receipt of the completed Form, the principal will notify the Director of Instructional Supports or designee and call a meeting of the School Committee to introduce the request.
- The material in question may remain in use during the challenge process.
- The school library staff will provide the School Committee members access to the challenged material as well as published reviews of the material from professional review sources. The School Committee members will be assigned to read, view, or listen to the material in its entirety as well as the reviews provided.
- The school will take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of the challenge review process and School Committee members (i.e., names and other personally identifiable information).
- After being afforded time to review the material and reviews, the School Committee will deliberate the issues and reach a determination.
- A determination is made by a majority vote. The School Committee will decide whether to retain the material in the school library, or de-select the material from the school library.
- The determination of the School Committee will be forwarded to the District Library Specialist. If the majority determination is to de-select the library material from the school library, the de-selected title will be forwarded to a District Level Challenge.
- The person who submits a School Level Challenge will receive a receipt of notice of submission within ten (10) school calendar days. The receipt of submission will include an estimated time-line for a determination of the Challenge to be completed within a reasonable time period not to exceed sixty (60) school days.
- The challenger will be notified of the School Committee’s decision in writing within a reasonable time period, not more than ten (10) working days after a decision is reached.
- A parent/legal guardian of a student is limited to two (2) challenges per school year.
- The same material cannot be challenged for at least five (5) years.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
600.06-6
APPROVED:
6.4.2024
District Level Appeal - 600.06-6
If a challenger is not satisfied with the determination of the School Committee, the challenger may appeal the determination through the District Level Appeal. Also, a title de-selected in the Challenge process will be subject to a District Level Appeal.
- A challenger shall submit a written District Level Appeal Form along with a copy of the School Committee decision to the Director of instructional Supports within ten (10) school days of receiving the determination of the School Committee.
- The material in question may remain in use during the District Level Appeal.
- The Director of Instructional Supports or designee will convene the District Appeal Committee and provide them with access to the challenged material as well as published reviews of the material from professional review sources.
- The District Appeal Committee members will read, view, or listen to the material in its entirety as well as the reviews.
- The District will take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of the District challenge review process and District Appeal Committee members (i.e., names and other personally identifiable information).
- After being afforded time to review the material, the District Appeal Committee will reconvene to decide whether to retain the material in the District library collection, or de-select the materials from the District library collection. A determination is made by a majority vote.
- The submission of a District Level Challenge Appeal will receive a receipt of notice of submission within ten (10) school calendar days. The receipt of submission will include an estimated time-line for a determination of the District Level Appeal to be completed within a reasonable time period not to exceed forty-five (45) school days.
- The District Appeal Committee will render a written determination to the challenger within ten (10) calendar days of reaching a decision.
- Following the District Appeal Committee determination there is no further administrative action.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
600.06-7
APPROVED:
6.4.2024
Sensitive Material Review/Challenge - 600.06-7
- The following individuals may initiate a sensitive material review/challenge:An employee of the District;
- A student enrolled in the District;
- A parent/legal guardian of a student; or
- A member of the Board of Education.
- An individual who has made three (3) unsuccessful sensitive material review/challenges during a given academic year, may not initiate a sensitive material review/challenge during the remainder of the given academic year.
- The requesting individual will submit a Sensitive Material Review/Challenge Form to the District, which will be forwarded to the District’s Library Media Specialist.
- Pursuant to State law, upon receipt of a Sensitive Material Review/Challenge Form, the District Library Media Specialist will make a determination if the allegation presents a plausible claim that the challenged library material constitutes sensitive material and will forward the allegation to the Objective Sensitive Panel for a sensitive material review.
- The District Library Media Specialist will facilitate removal of the challenged material from any school setting that provides student access until the District completes the objective sensitive materials review.
- The material will appear as restricted pending review in the District’s online public access catalog (OPAC).
- A sensitive material review will include:
- an Objective Sensitive Material Review by an Objective Sensitive Material Panel; and
- only if the Objective Sensitive Material Panel determines it does not constitute objective sensitive material, a Subjective Sensitive Material Review by a District Appeal Committee.
- Objective Sensitive Material Review: An Objective Sensitive Material Panel will engage in a review and determination under the non-discretionary standards as described in Utah Code 76-10-1227 (1)(a)(i)(ii), or (iii).
- If the panel determines a title constitutes Objective Sensitive Material as described in Utah Code 76-10-1227:
- The District is not required to engage in a review under the subjective sensitive material standard, but the panel may also review under the prongs of The Miller-Test.
- The title constituting Objective Sensitive Material will be reported to the State Board of Education;
- The title will be inaccessible to students in any school setting and the title will be restricted pending review pending an appeal to the Board or action by USBE.
- An objective sensitive material review will occur within ten (10) school days of submission of a Sensitive Material Review/Challenge Form.
- If the panel determines a title constitutes Objective Sensitive Material as described in Utah Code 76-10-1227:
- Subjective Sensitive Material Review: If the Objective Sensitive Material Panel determines a title does not constitute objective sensitive material, a District Appeal Committee will complete a Subjective Sensitive Material Review, which includes reflective members of the school community. During the Subjective Sensitive Material review, the title will be accessible only with parent consent.
- This review includes reading the entire title, and making a determination if the title contains pornographic or indecent material under the following factor-balancing standards: Material that is ”harmful to minors” in Utah Code 76-10-1201; or material that is pornographic under 76-10-1203; or material that include certain fondling or other erotic touching under 76-10-1227 (1)(a)(iv).
- If the review by a District Appeal Committee determines the title constitutes subjective sensitive material, the title will be inaccessible to students in the school setting, and the District will communicate to the State Board the District’s final determination regarding the Title. The title will be inaccessible to students in any school setting pending an appeal to the Board or action by USBE.
- If the Subjective Sensitive Material Review determines the title does not constitute Subjective Sensitive Material, the title will be retained in the District’s library collection.
- The sensitive material review will be conducted within forty-five (45) school days.
- A District Appeal Committee may request to the Superintendent or designee for a waiver of the forty-five (45) school day time-line if the number of requests for review/challenges exceeds the District Appeal Committee’s capacity.
- An individual (i.e., employee, student, parent/legal guardian of student and member for the Board) may appeal a District Appeal Committee’s decision regarding a sensitive material review to the Board.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
600.06-8
APPROVED:
6.4.2024
Appeal to the Board - 600.06-8
- If an individual is not satisfied with a sensitive material review/challenge, regardless of whether the instructional material was removed or retained, may appeal to the School Board within fifteen (15) calendar days of a sensitive materials determination.
- Upon receipt of an appeal to the School Board, the Board will schedule a review of an appeal within 45 days.
- The individual submitting an appeal to the Board will provide a written statement offering a rationale for why a title should be removed or retained.
- The Board will be provided a copy of:
- the individual’s written statement;
- the Objective Sensitive Material Review from the Objective Sensitive Material Review Panel; and
- the Subjective Sensitive Material Review from the District Appeal Committee.
- The School Board shall vote in a Public Board meeting to decide the outcome of sensitive material review appeal, identifying:
- The Board’s rationale for the decision to remove or retain the title; and
- The Board’s determination on each component of the statutory and any additional policy standards the Board uses to reach the Board conclusion.
- The Board decision will be communicated to the State School Board.
- If the title is to be removed, it will be inaccessible to students in any school setting and the title will be deselected from the District’s library collection; and subject to the District’s surplus procedures for deselected books.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
600.06-9
APPROVED:
6.4.2024
Sensitive Materials Threshold - 600.06-9
- Sensitive Materials Threshold: Pursuant to state Law, (H.B. 29, 2024), the requirement to remove a given instructional material from student access statewide applies if the following number local education agencies (LEAs) makes a determination that given instructional constitutes objective sensitive material:
- At least three school districts; or
- At least two school district and five charter schools,
- Pursuant to state law, if the above threshold is met, the state school board (USBE) shall aggregate allegations and LEA determinations; and no later than 10 days after the day on which the threshold occurs, communicate to all LEAS to remove the relevant challenged instructional material.
- Pursuant to state law, upon receipt of communication from the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) that a given instructional material constitutes objective sensitive material by at least three school districts, or at least two school districts and five charter schools, the District will remove the given instructional material from student access in accordance with state law and hold pending further action by USBE.
- If the above sensitive material threshold is met for a given instructional material, in additional to making the communication above to remove the given instructional material, the state board may:
- Place the material on the agenda of a public board meeting within 60 days after the day on which the state board (USBE) makes a communication to LEAs;
- At the specified state board meeting, vote to overturn the application of the requirement to remove a given material from student access statewide.
- If the state board (USBE) votes to overturn the application of the statewide removal, the statewide removal no longer applies. If a statewide mandate no longer applies, an LEA may choose to return the given material to student access.
- Canyons School District has determined to not give deference to sensitive material reviews conducted by other educational entities, and will return the given instructional material to student access in the District’s Library collection.
Exhibits
- Exhibit 1 – Library Materials Reconsideration – Instructions for Parents and Patrons
- Exhibit 2 –
- Exhibit 3 – Individual Student Restriction Form
- Exhibit 4 –
- Exhibit 6 – Challenge – Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form
- Exhibit 7 – District Level Appeal
- Exhibit 8 – Selection of Library Challenge Committees
Title Reconsiderations
Canyons School District had no formal requests for reconsideration of library material prior to the 2021-2022 school year.
Forms
Document History
Revised – 6.4.2024. Policy – 600.06 Selection and Reconsideration of Library Material was revised pursuant to H.B. 29 (2024). The policy adjustments include:
- Statutory definition for Challenger of Sensitive Materials: student; parent of a student; employee; or member of the Board of Education
- Statutory definitions for Sensitive Material; Objective Sensitive Material; Subjective Sensitive Material; and Unsuccessful Sensitive Material Challenge
- Procedural definitions: Objective Sensitive Material Panel; The Miller Test; Restricted Pending Review
- Challenge for reasons other than Sensitive Materials
- Sensitive Materials Review/Challenge Procedures
- Appeal to the Board
- Sensitive Materials Threshold and Utah State Board of Education (USBE)
Revised – 12.13.2022. Policy – 600.06 -Selection and Reconsideration of Library Materials was revised in the following ways:
- A new title: Selection and Reconsideration of School Library Materials
- New definitions for temporary restricted access and permanent restricted access, and all definitions were alphabetized.
- The title review process was revised and retitled a “Sensitive Materials Review.” The new process includes a preliminary screening for “a description of depiction of illicit sex or immorality” based on Utah Code 76-10-1227, and a full sensitive materials review, which includes reading the entire title, and analysis for material that is ”harmful to minors” or “pornographic” based on Utah Code 76-10-1201 and Utah Code 76-10-1203.
- If a title is found to have material based on Utah Code 76-10-1227, it may be deselected or placed on temporary restricted access requiring parent/legal guardian permission to access pending the full review. This preliminary prescreening will occur with ten (10) school days.
- A parent/legal guardian is limited to ten (10) active requests for a sensitive materials review per year at schools where the library materials can be accessed.
- A Challenge to Library Materials may be initiated without a review. However, the challenge process will begin following a completion of a full sensitive materials review.
- The School Committee addressing a challenge will make a determination whether to retain the material in the school library or de-select the material from the school library.
- The challenge time-line was modified to not exceed sixty (60) school days and a parent/legal guardian is limited to two (2) challenges per school year.
- The District Level Appeal was adjusted to allow a District Committee to retain the material in the District Library Collection, permanently restrict (require parent/legal guardian permission to access), or de-select the materials from the library collection.
- A District Level Review by a District Administrator or Board Members is limited to two (2) active requests.
Revised – 5.17.2022. Policy – 600.06 – School Library Materials Selection and Review was updated to include the statutory definitions for sensitive material and school setting from H.B. 374 Sensitive Materials in Schools (2022). Specifically, the term sensitive material has been added to the deselection criteria in the policy for library materials. Language was also added to protect the confidentiality of the review committee members. A minor adjustment was made from calendar days to school calendar days to account for situations when a request for a review of a library material may extend over the summer months when school or District employees may be unavailable due to contract hours and scheduled vacation.
Revised – 1.4.2022. Policy – 600.06 – School Library Materials Selection and Review was revised to add Board Policy language recognizing and adhering to Constitutional and First Amendment principles for school libraries and student’s right to read and intellectual freedom balanced with the instruction and education of minors and community values. Additional criteria for selection of library materials was added to the policy and review processes were outlined, including a School Level Review, District Level Review, School and District Level Challenges.
Revised – 5.19.2020. Policy – 600.06 – School Library Materials Selection and Review updated language for review committees, and to new procedures for acquisition and maintenance for library collections. The policy update also includes procedures for challenges of library materials at an individual school and the District.
Adopted – 10.18.2005.
This online presentation is an electronic representation of the Canyons School District’s currently adopted policy manual. It does not reflect updating activities in progress. The official, authoritative manual is available for inspection in the office of the Superintendent located at 9361 South 300 East Sandy, UT 84070.
