Skip to content
605.02 Objections to Instructional Materials Menu

605.02 Objections to Instructional Materials

Members of the Ankeny Community School District community may object to instructional materials, including supplementary classroom materials, and content accessible from district-owned technology devices, used in the district and ask for their use to be reconsidered. The superintendent/designee shall determine administrative regulations for reconsideration of instructional materials.

Legal Reference:
Iowa Code §§ 279.8; 280.3, .14; 301; 728.1.
281 I.A.C. 12.3(12).

Cross Reference:
ALA’s “Library Bill of Rights”

Approved:
June 7, 1976

Reviewed:
March 11, 2009
November 17, 2014
March 19, 2018
February 18, 2019
June 16, 2022

Revised:
June 15, 2009
November 17, 2014
March 19, 2018
February 18, 2019
July 25, 2022

R.R. for Policy #605.02

The district shall follow this process for handling reconsideration of challenged instructional materials:

  1. The staff member(s) using the challenged instructional material will listen to the concerns of the individual making the complaint (“Complainant”), inform the Complainant of the selection process, purpose, and context for the use of the materials, and attempt to resolve the situation informally.
  2. If an informal resolution cannot be reached and the Complainant is a student and/or the parent/guardian of a student(s) who would ordinarily be expected to engage with the material, the teacher will provide the relevant student(s) with alternative materials and will not require the student to participate in lessons and/or activities involving the challenged materials during the challenge process if his/her parent/guardian so requests. Unless the Review Committee requests temporary removal for unusual circumstances, challenged materials will be used during the reconsideration process with students other than the student(s) involved in the challenge (if their parent/guardian has requested alternative materials).
  3. If steps 1 and 2 do not result in satisfaction for the Complainant and/or if the request is to remove the materials from the curriculum entirely, the teacher with whom the Complainant has been working
    will request that the complainant submit a formal “Reconsideration Request Form” to the relevant principal. The staff member will inform his/her building principal that this request has been made of the Complainant.
  4. Within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the completed Reconsideration Request Form, the principal will notify the Chief Academic Officer and will appoint an ad hoc committee (“Review Committee”) to review the challenged material. The Review Committee will be comprised of another principal, a content specialist in the content area of the challenged material, two teachers (including a member from the grade level and/or department where the challenged instructional materials are being used), three community residents, and two 10th – 12th grade students whose parents have consented to their participation in the review. The Director of Curriculum and Innovation will facilitate the committee. The Complainant may present to the committee (if the Complainant so requests), but shall not be a member of the committee.
  5. The Review Committee will take the following steps after receiving the challenged materials form:
    • Set a date for completion of the review process
    • Read, view, and/or listen to the material in its entirety,
    • Listen to the Complainant’s presentation (if the Complainant requests the opportunity to make a
      presentation),
    • Check the general acceptance of the material by reading reviews and consulting
      recommended lists, and
    • Determine the extent to which the material supports the curriculum
  6. The Review Committee will present one of the following recommendations to the Complainant and the Chief Academic Officer, within (ten) 10 calendar days:
    (1) retain the material,
    (2) withdraw all or part of the material, or
    (3) limit the educational use of the challenged material.
  7. Within ten (10) calendar days of the Review Committee’s decision, the Complainant may file an appeal with the Chief Academic Officer.
  8. Within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of an appeal, the Chief Academic Officer will convene the School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC) to consider and review the recommendation received from the Review Committee. The absence of a quorum of the SIAC shall not invalidate any recommendations made
    by SIAC.
  9. The School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC) will present one of the following recommendations to the superintendent/designee in a timely manner:
    (1) retain the material,
    (2) withdraw all or part of the material, or
    (3) limit the educational use of the challenged material.
  10. The superintendent will review SIAC’s recommendation and respond to the Review Committee facilitator, the Chief Academic Officer, and the Complainant within fifteen (15) calendar days. A decision will be rendered to:
    (1) retain the material,
    (2) withdraw all or part of the material, or
    (3) limit the educational use of the challenged material.
  11. Following the superintendent’s decision, the Complainant or Review Committee facilitator may appeal the decision to the board for review. The board will hear the appeal within one month following the filing of the appeal. Following the appeal hearing, the board will decide whether to sustain or to overrule the superintendent’s decision.
  12. Pursuant to state law, any person dissatisfied with the decision of the board may appeal to the Iowa Department of Education.
  13. Under unusual circumstances, the board may waive the timelines as stated.