Educational Material Complaints

The complainant shall file an objection form online.  The complainant must cite to the specific sections and pages of the text that are objectionable.  The form must be signed and attested by the parent or resident, include the required contact information, and state the objection to the instructional material based on the criteria set forth in F.S. 1006.31(2) or 1006.40(3)(d) and Sections I and V in School Board Policy 2510.  An individual complainant may submit only one (1) complaint directly to the school, that contains all the complainant’s objections to the specific material. Complaint forms that do not contain the requisite information may not be considered.  The online complaint form will be routed to the principal and notifications will be sent to the Region and District’s Library/Media Services department.

1. In preparation for a meeting with the complainant, the principal or designee and a school media specialist should conduct a review of the material based on the selection criteria set forth in Board Policy 2510.
2. Within seven (7) calendar days of the complaint notification, the principal and/or designee will schedule the complainant for a meeting.
3. Within fourteen (14) calendar days of the complaint notification, the principal and/or a designee and any relevant staff member(s) shall meet with the complainant to hear the grievance regarding the material and to explain:

1. 1. the school’s materials selection procedures;
   2. the criteria used for the selection of instructional materials;
   3. the role that the material in question has in the school’s curriculum or library/media center collection; and
   4. whatever additional information is needed regarding the item’s use.

Upon receipt of written notification by the Principal if the complainant is not satisfied with the explanation regarding the retention of the material in the school, the complainant will then be provided with the option to file a formal complaint.

The complainant must complete the online “Citizen’s Complaint regarding Non-Adopted Instructional, Library, or Other Educational Materials” (FM-3448) form. All required fields must be completed, the form must be signed and attested and provided to the Principal by the complainant. Electronic copies of the form responses will be immediately provided to:

1. 1. the Region Superintendent; and
   2. the District Supervisor over Library/Media Services.

The form must also include the required contact information and state the objection to the instructional material based on the criteria set forth in F.S. 1006.31(2) or 1006.40(3)(d) and Sections I and V of School Board Policy 2510. The complainant must cite to the specific sections and pages of the text that are objectionable. An individual complainant may submit only one (1) complaint directly to the school, that contains all the complainant’s objections to the specific material. Complaint forms that do not contain the requisite information may not be considered.

The completed form and the material(s) in question shall be provided by the principal within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of complaint form to a six (6) member School Materials Review Committee (SMRC.  The SMRC will be appointed on an ad hoc basis by the principal with the following provisions:

The committee shall consist of:

1. 1. the principal or designee;
   2. one (1) teacher for secondary or two (2) teachers for elementary in the appropriate subject area/grade;
   3. one (1) library media specialist;
   4. one (1) student from the appropriate grade level or for whom the material is considered to be age-appropriate (middle and senior high school only with parental approval);
   5. one (1) parent/resident from the school’s Parent-Teacher/Parent-Teacher-Student Association or the Educational Excellence School Advisory Council; and
   6. one (1) region director or the region superintendent.

The SMRC shall meet within fourteen (14) calendar days of the principal’s receipt of the complaint form. Committee meetings convened for the purpose of resolving an objection by a parent or resident to specific materials must be noticed and open to the public in accordance with F.S. 286.011. Any committees convened for such purposes must include parents of students who will have access to such materials.

Parents of the impacted school shall be notified of the complaint and the upcoming committee meeting.

The SMRC may solicit professional written reviews of the materials and/or comments from appropriate audiences or resource persons. The SMRC shall read/view the material, consider the reviews of the material, study the comments on the complainant’s questionnaire, consider the evaluative standards and criteria provided in Sections I and V of this policy and render a decision based on a majority vote.

Within (30) calendar days of the principal’s receipt of form FM-3448, the SMRC shall prepare a written report for the principal to follow. The committee’s determination shall be any or a combination of the following:

1. 1. allow the challenged material to maintain its current status prior to the complainant’s objection;
   2. leave the challenged material in the classroom or library/media center and permit the complainant to complete the Request to Limit Access form to limit their child’s access to the specific material and request that the teacher provide an alternate assignment;
   3. reclassify the challenged material to an appropriate age or reading level based upon professional/literary reviews (details about the limitations must be outlined in the report); or
   4. remove the challenged material from the total school environment. This action will require an automatic review of the material by the District Materials Review Committee (DMRC).

Within seven (7) calendar days after receipt of the SMRC determination, the principal shall inform the complainant of the decision and shall send copies of all reports and communications to the appropriate Region Superintendent and the District Supervisor of Library/Media Services. If the SMRC determined to reclassify or remove the challenged material (per Section X.B.2d.3-4), notification via memorandum must be sent to the Board.

Except as required by Section I.B.1. in Board Policy 2510, access to challenged materials shall not be restricted during the review process. The materials shall remain in use pending the outcome of the review. No challenged material may be removed from the curriculum or from a collection of resource materials solely because it presents ideas that may be unpopular or offensive to some.

A copy of the selection and reconsideration procedures shall be placed in the library/media center’s professional collection for reference.

Each school principal shall include a copy of this policy in the school’s staff handbook and shall review the selection and reconsideration procedures with the staff as needed, emphasizing the policies pertaining to the teaching of controversial issues and the ethical considerations that are needed in handling citizen complaints with courtesy and integrity.

The Chief Academic Officer (CAO) may request that the DMRC review any SMRC determination.