Skip navigation
402.5

Reconsideration of Instructional Material

A committee, referred to as the Instructional Materials Reconsideration Committee, shall address formal requests for reconsideration of library and instructional materials. The committee will provide a context in which differences of opinion and possible selection errors may be examined openly.

The Instructional Materials Reconsideration Committee shall be formed each year by September 30 and shall function through June 30 of the following year. The committee will consist of:

  • One teacher leader designated by the Office of Teaching and Learning
  • One teacher leader responsible for district libraries and/or teacher leader in content lead role
  • At least two parents or community members
  • The District Curriculum Coordinator(s)

Citizens of the school community may formally challenge, on the basis of appropriateness, library or instructional material with the building teacher librarian or building principal, from whom they may obtain the “Request for Reconsideration of Library or Instructional Material” form.  All formal challenges shall be on the “Request for Reconsideration…” form, and the complainant must be specific as to author, title, publisher, date of publication, and when relevant, page numbers of items to which objection is being made. The statement shall be signed and filed with the Committee’s Chair, District Representative, at the Educational Leadership and Support Center, 2500 Edgewood Road N.W.

Within 30 school days of the filing of a complaint, the Committee’s Chair, District Representative shall bring the material in question to the Instructional Materials Reconsideration Committee for reevaluation.  The Committee will develop and submit a recommendation regarding District use of the materials to the Superintendent/designee.

Generally, student access to challenged material will not be restricted during the reconsideration process, but the Superintendent/designee may limit access under unusual circumstances.


  • Approved: 12-12-77
  • Revised: 09-23-85
  • Reviewed: 11-13-89
  • Revised: 12-11-89, 01-25-93
  • Reviewed: 04-08-96, 08-09-99
  • Revised: 06-26-06, 11-12-12, 06-25-18, 08-26-19, 10-10-2022, 10-23-2023
  • Documents: 402.5

Back to Series 400