| The School Board of Polk County |
| Bylaws & Policies |
| Unless a specific policy has been amended and the date the policy was revised is noted at the bottom of that policy, the bylaws and policies of The School Board of Polk County were adopted on November 12, 2013 and were in effect beginning November 12, 2013. |
2520 - INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
The School Board shall provide instructional materials and equipment, within budgetary constraints, to implement the District's educational goals and objectives and to meet students' needs. The primary objective of such instructional materials and equipment shall be to enrich, support, and implement the educational program of the school.
State law requires the Board to provide adequate instructional materials free of charge to students who are enrolled in the District.
"Adequate instructional materials" means a sufficient number of student or site licenses or sets of materials that are available in bound, unbound, kit, or package form and may consist of hard-backed or soft-backed textbooks, electronic content, consumables, learning laboratories, manipulatives, electronic media, and computer courseware or software that serves as the basis for instruction for each student in the core courses of mathematics, language arts, social studies, science, reading, and literature.
Furthermore, Federal law requires the Board to provide accessible instructional materials as specified in a student's IEP. Such accessible instructional materials may be of a type or in a format as specified in the definition of adequate instructional materials in this policy.
The Superintendent shall develop administrative procedures for the selection from the State approved list, acquisition, management, use, accountability, and reporting requirements of all educational and instructional materials and equipment.
Students shall be held responsible for the cost of replacing any instructional materials lost, destroyed, or unnecessarily damaged. Failure to provide payment for the damage or loss may result in the suspension of the student from participation in extra-curricular activities, or the debt may be satisfied by the student performing community service activities at the school site as determined by the school principal.
A student or his/her parent(s) may purchase a copy of the designated course instructional materials, regardless of format, for the District's purchase price, including shipping.
Cost of materials may be charged for materials used in those activities beyond the basic curriculum in which a student elects to participate, particularly in activities where the product becomes the property of the student.
A list of all approved instructional materials shall be maintained by the Superintendent and made available for the use of the instructional staff.
Free School-Related Instructional Materials
Free instructional materials may be accepted for classroom and school purposes under conditions that meet all the following criteria:
| A. | The initiative for securing the materials should be of the type that teachers seek rather than materials forwarded to them to promote the interests of an outside agency. | |
| B. | The materials should fill a legitimate purpose of the school curriculum. | |
| C. | The advertising feature of the materials should be minimized. | |
| D. | Educational films should contain a minimum amount of commercial advertising. |
Equipment or Instructional Materials Vendors
All instructional materials and ancillary items must be reviewed and approved through the District's Purchasing and Utilizing Resources Effectively (PURE) process. Vendors are prohibited from advertising, demonstrating, and/or showing non-PURE approved instructional materials to school-based personnel.
All equipment, software, and technology service-related items must be reviewed and approved through the District's Product Integration Evaluation (PIE) process. Vendors are prohibited from advertising, demonstrating, and/or showing non-PIE approved equipment, software, and technology services to school-based personnel.
The Superintendent shall develop administrative procedures for the implementation of the Instructional Materials Program and this policy.
Process for Parents to Object to Specific Instructional Material
Parents of a student attending a District school may object to the use of specific instructional material in a course in which the student is enrolled.
The parents shall:
| A. | Arrange a conference with the Principal to file his/her objections on the Request for Examination Form (see Form 9130 F1). This form is available at school, District office and online at http://www.polk-fl.net/mediaservices. Assistance in completing the form will be available upon request. | |
| B. | Upon receipt of the signed Request for Examination Form, the Principal will notify the Superintendent that such a review is being conducted. District Library Media Services shall assist with recommended lists, locating additional copies of media and reviews, upon request. The questioned media is not to be withdrawn from use during the period of examination. | |
| C. | The Principal requests review of the challenged media by the School Library Media Committee. This committee must meet and reach a decision within ten (10) business days. When a textbook or other curricular material is being reexamined, the principal should make certain that the appropriate grade/content area is represented at the meeting. All members of the School Library Media Committee shall participate. The Principal will notify the senior director and the complainant(s) of the meeting's date and time. The complainant(s) shall be allowed to attend as an observer(s) only. If addressed by the committee, the complainant(s) may respond only to stated questions. | |
| D. | Each member of the School Library Media Committee will be provided with a copy of the media, reviews, checklists, and any departmental procedures for selection. Each member will read, view, or listen to the media in its entirety and consider the extent to which the media supports the curriculum and meets the selection criteria. Each member then fills out his/her individual checklist prior to the scheduled committee meeting. | |
| E. | The Principal will convene the meeting of the School Library Media Committee. The committee will follow the Board-adopted agenda. Minutes of the meeting will be taken. The vote by the committee must be by signed ballot. | |
| F. | The Committee's recommendation for the treatment of the media will apply to the local school only. | |
| G. | The Principal shall convey the decision of the Committee to the senior director, the complainant, and the Senior Coordinator for Library Media Services immediately by telephone and in writing, and shall forward all pertinent documentation to the senior director's office with a copy to Library Media Services. | |
| H. | The Principal notifies the complainant of the Committee's decision if the complainant is unable to attend the School Media Review Committee meeting. | |
| I. | If the complainant wishes for an appeal, the Principal notifies the senior director and the Senior Coordinator for Library Media Services. | |
| Communication with the press and other interested members of the community shall be through the Principal. |
Process for Parents to Contest Adoption of Specific Instructional Material
Parents of students attending a public school in the District may contest the Board’s adoption of specific instructional material. The parent must file with the Board within thirty (30) calendar days after the Board’s adoption of specific instructional material a petition on a form provided by the Board. The petition form shall be publicly available by visiting in-person or by accessing the Board’s website at
http//www.polk-fl.net/mediaservices. The petition must be signed by the parent, include the required contact information, and state the objection to the instructional material.Within thirty (30) calendar days after the thirty (30) day period has expired, the Board will conduct at least one (1) open public hearing on all petitions timely received and provide the petitioner(s) written notification of the date and time of the hearing at least seven (7) calendar days before the public hearing. All instructional materials contested will be made accessible online to the public at least seven (7) calendar days before a public hearing. The Board’s decision after convening a public hearing is final and not subject to further petition or review.
Compliance with F.S. 1006.32, Relating to Prohibited Acts
| A. | No District official, including an instructional materials reviewer, shall solicit or accept any emolument, money, or other valuable thing, or any inducement, to directly or indirectly introduce, recommend, vote for, or otherwise influence the adoption or purchase of any instructional material. | |
| B. | The District shall not participate in a pilot program of materials being considered for adoption during the eighteen (18) month period before the official adoption of the materials by the Board. Any pilot program during the first two (2) years of the adoption period must have the prior approval of the Board. | |
| C. | Any Board official or instructional materials reviewer who violates any provision of this section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in F.S. 775.082 or 775.083. | |
| D. | This policy does not prohibit the Board official or instructional materials reviewer from receiving sample copies of instructional materials. | |
| E. | This policy does not prohibit or restrict a Board official from receiving royalties or other compensation, other than compensation paid to him/her as commission for negotiating sales to district school boards, from the publisher or manufacturer of instructional materials written, designed, or prepared by such Board official, and purchased by the Board. No Board official shall be allowed to receive royalties on any materials not on the State-adopted list purchased for use by his/her Board. | |
| F. | The Superintendent, Board member, teacher, or other person officially connected with the government or direction of public schools may not receive during the months actually engaged in performing duties under his/her contract any private fee, gratuity, donation, or compensation, in any manner whatsoever, for promoting the sale or exchange of any instructional material, map, or chart in any public school, or be an agent for the sale or the publisher of any instructional material or reference work, or have a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the introduction of any such instructional material, and any such agency or interest shall disqualify any person so acting or interested from holding any Board employment whatsoever, and the person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in F.S. 775.082 and 775.083; however, this subsection does not prevent the adoption of any instructional material written in whole or in part by a Florida author. |
Certification of the Accuracy of Instructional Materials
In addition to relying on statements of publishers or manufacturers of instructional materials, the reviewer may, with the approval, and subject to the direction of the Superintendent, conduct or cause to be conducted an independent investigation to determine the accuracy of State-adopted instructional materials.
When errors in Board-adopted materials are confirmed, the publisher of the materials shall provide to each district school board that has purchased the materials the corrections in a format approved by the department.
The Board may remove materials from the list of Board-adopted materials if it finds that the content is in error and the publisher refuses to correct the error when notified by the Board.
Maximization of Student Use of Authorized Instructional Materials
In order to maximize student use of authorized instructional materials, the Board shall:
| A. | purchase current instructional materials to provide each student with a major tool of instruction in core courses of the subject areas of mathematics, language arts, science, social studies, reading, and literature for kindergarten through grade 12; | |
| B. | by the 2015-2016 fiscal year, use at least fifty percent (50%) of the annual allocation for the purchase of digital or electronic instructional materials included on the State-adopted list, except as otherwise authorized law or rules of the State Board of Education. | |
| C. | use up to 100% of that portion of the annual allocation designated for the purchase of instructional materials for kindergarten, and up to seventy-five percent (75%) of that portion of the annual allocation designated for the purchase of instructional materials for first grade, to purchase materials not on the State-adopted list, which shall be used for the purchase of instructional materials or other items having intellectual content which assist in the instruction of a subject or course. | |
| These items may be available in bound, unbound, kit, or package form and may consist of hardbacked or softbacked textbooks, electronic content, replacements for items which were part of previously purchased instructional materials, consumables, learning laboratories, manipulatives, electronic media, computer courseware or software, and other commonly accepted instructional tools. |
The Superintendent shall implement procedures that will assure the maximum use by the students of the authorized instructional materials.
F.S. 119.071, 1006.28, through 1006.42
F.A.C. 6A-6.03028
34 C.F.R. Part 300
© Neola 2014