Rationale+for+Selection+Policy

I. RATIONALE FOR SELECTION POLICY

The purposes of this statement on policies and procedures for the selection of instructional materials in the Walled Lake Consolidated Schools are:

A. To inform all school personnel; teachers, media staff, Principals, Superintendents and members of the Board of Education of the specific selection practices of the District.

B. To state the responsibilities and limits of responsibility of participating individuals.

C. To establish guidelines for those persons responsible for doing the actual selection by setting forth clearly detailed criteria and techniques for applying them, and thus assure consistent excellence in the choice of materials.

D. To aid in keeping the community informed, and thus increase the confidence of the community in its schools.

E. To provide for an orderly procedure for evaluating instructional materials.

DEFINITIONS

1. MEDIA  May be defined as all materials used to store information on paper, tape, film or diskette for instruction and research purposes. 2. LIBRARY BOOKS Reference books and individual copies of books for reading, information retrieval and research projects. 3. TEXTBOOKS Multiple copies of books to be used for instruction in specific disciplines or courses.

4. MEDIA SOFTWARE Includes recordings, films, multimedia kits, and video cassettes of all kinds used for teacher instruction and student information retrieval. 5. HARDWARE includes recording, filming, printing, projection, and computing equipment. 6. COMPUTER Programmed diskettes including SOFTWARE information storage, simulations, problem solving, work programs, drill and practice, etc.

II. RESPONSIBILITY

Who is responsible for selection of materials?

The ultimate responsibility for the selection of media resides in the Walled Lake Board of Education. The Board and the administration delegate the actual selection of materials to the media specialists and classroom teachers under the guidance of the K—12 media director and building principals who administer the instructional materials collection. This responsibility is exercised under the supervision of the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculums, in accordance with Board and administrative policies and with the consideration of requests by administration, faculty, parents and students.

III. OBJECTIVES OF SELECTION

Learning resources are selected with the objectives of:

A. Implementing, supporting and enriching the educational program of the school.

B. Promoting the intellectual, cultural, social and ethical development of the students.

C. Providing materials at different levels of difficulty and with diversity of appeal and which includes various points of view on controversial topics.

D. Making available learning materials of sound literary quality arid authority.

Selection is done in accordance with the policies of, and in recognition of the responsibilities outlines by the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights (Exhibit A) and the American Association of School Librarians’ School Library Bill of Rights (Exhibit B). These two professional statements encourage young people to use and evaluate relevant materials of instruction as they identify and analyze significant contemporary problems and thus form judgments.

IV. SELECTION CRITERIA

In order to fulfill these objectives, it is necessary to apply certain well—conceived criteria in the selection of each item.

Selection of materials will be assisted by perusal of standard evaluation aids, i.e. Book List, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, School Library Journal, Wilson Catalogs, specific bibliographies for specific areas, etc., prepared by recognized authorities.

Two basic factors, truth and art, will be considered in evaluating books and other learning materials. The first is factual accuracy, authoritativeness, balance, integrity. The second is quality of stimulating presentation, imagination, vision, creativeness, style appropriate to the idea, vitality and distinction.

Suitability of presentation and subject matter should be considered with respect to grades and interest levels, social and emotional maturity of students, and the curriculum and personal interests of pupils and teachers.

Several specific areas of special concern are: religion, science, ideologies, sex and profanity, and stereotypes. A. Religion An unbiased selection should be made of available material about all religions. B. Science Medical and scientific knowledge should be made available without any biased selection of facts. C. Ideologies The school should make available basic factual information on the level of its students, on any ideology or philosophy which exerts a strong force, either favorable or unfavorable, in government, current events, politics, education or any other phase of life. D. Sex and Materials presenting accenting of sex should be Profanity subjected to the stern test of literary merit and reality by the staff, who take into consideration particularly the social and emotional maturity of the student body. Although the sensational or overly dramatic

material would not be selected, a book (for example) should not be disqualified automatically because of the inclusion of sexual incidents or profanity; rather, the decision should be made on the basis of whether life is presented in its true proportions arid circumstances are realistically dealt with, and whether the book is of literary value. Factual material of an educational nature on the level of the students should be included in the instructional resources collection. Gifts shall be subjected to the same standards of selection as purchases.

E. Stereotypes Materials should be selected which present an unbiased image and viewpoint, avoiding stereotypes, i.e. race, gender or sex, occupation, age or ethnic groups.

V. PROCEDURE FOR CHALLENGED MATERIALS

Since opinion regarding materials may differ in a democratic society, the following procedures will be observed in recognizing those differences,

A. Parents or students who wish to register a complaint regarding the selection or use of a book will be directed to the building principal. The principal will initiate the following steps.

1. When the complaint is first received, appropriate personnel should meet informally with the complainant to hear the specific objections and to explain how and why the challenged material was selected. Appropriate personnel would include the principal and staff member selecting or using the book.

2. If the complainant still wishes to challenge the material, he/she will complete the form entitled Citizen’s Request for Reconsideration of School Material and return the form to the building principal.

3.  Copies of the completed form will be sent to the appropriate Assistant Superintendent for Instruction who will notify the Superintendent of Schools of the formal complaint.

4. The Assistant Superintendent will seek to resolve the complaint. Such action may involve but will not be limited to the following procedures.

a. Meeting with involved building personnel.

b. Meeting with parties initiating the complaint.

c. Initiation of a committee which will include a school administrator and teachers. Representative citizens of the school community may be called for consultation.

5. The decision of the Assistant Superintendent may be appealed to the Superintendent or Board of Education.