Informal Reconsideration of Materials
The school receiving a complaint about the appropriateness of an instructional resource shall try to resolve the matter informally using the following procedure:
The principal or designee shall explain the school’s selection process, the criteria for selection, and the qualifications of the professional staff who selected the questioned resource.
The principal or designee shall explain the intended educational purpose of the resource and any additional information regarding its use.
If appropriate, the principal or designee may offer a concerned parent an alternative instructional resource to be used by that parent’s child in place of the challenged resource.
Formal Reconsideration of Materials
Under Texas Education Code (TEC) §33.027, a parent, district employee, or person residing in a school district may submit a written challenge to any library material in a school’s library catalog. To submit a written challenge, an eligible individual must complete and submit the Library Materials Challenge Form. In accordance with TEC §33.027, an individual completing the form must identify how the challenged library material violates library standards adopted by the Texas State Library and Archive Commission (TSLAC).
Upon receipt of a Library Materials Challenge Form:
The district must submit a copy of the form to its local school library advisory council (LSLAC), no later than the fifth day after the written challenge is received.
The district’s LSLAC must make a recommendation for action no later than the 90th day after the council receives the challenge.
If a school district has not established an LSLAC, the school district’s board of trustees must take action on the written challenge at the first open meeting held after the 90th day after receipt of a written challenge.
A school district must prohibit student access to challenged library material until the district takes action in response to the challenge.