San Marcos CISD Board policy allows parents, staff and community members to formally object to library materials currently available to students. Titles may be challenged if an individual believes the title does not meet the policies and guidelines related to library material selection.

This policy is adopted to ensure the District protects the First Amendment rights of its students. In accordance with established Supreme Court decisions, a District cannot remove a library book that has been selected from circulation without first reviewing the title. The District’s policy is designed to ensure that an appropriate review is conducted prior to any title being removed so that the District satisfies the requirements of the First Amendment. However, the policy is also designed to ensure that educationally unsuitable materials, such as those containing obscene content, are removed upon completion of review.

Per [Board Policy: EFB Local], the following principles shall guide the Board and staff in responding to challenges of instructional resources:

• An individual may raise an objection to a library material used in the District’s library program, despite the fact that the professional staff selecting the materials were qualified to make the selection, followed the proper procedure, and adhered to the objectives and criteria for library materials set out in this policy. 

• A parent’s or guardian’s ability to exercise control over instruction and instructional resources, including library materials, extends only to his or her own child as set forth in Education Code Chapter 26.

• Access to a challenged material shall not be restricted during the reconsideration process, except the District may deny access to a student if requested by the student’s parent or guardian.

In addition to compliance with state law and this policy, a criterion for the final decision on challenged library materials is the appropriateness of the material for its intended use. No challenged library material shall be removed solely because of the ideas expressed in the library material or the personal background of the library material’s author or the personal background of the characters in the material.

The school receiving a complaint about the appropriateness of a library material shall try to resolve the matter informally using the following procedure:

1. The campus administrator or designee shall explain the school's selection process and discuss the intended purpose for the library material.

2. The librarian or campus administrator shall offer a concerned parent or guardian an alternative library material to be used by the child in place of the material and, if requested, shall restrict the child’s access to the material objected to by the parent or guardian. 

If the individual wishes to make a formal challenge, the administrator shall make available to the individual a copy of the [Board Policy: EFB (Local)], a copy of SMCISD’s Collection Development Policy, and an SMCISD Reconsideration of Library Materials form.

Step 1:

If the complainant submits a completed SMCISD Reconsideration of Library Materials form, a copy of the form should be kept on file at the campus, and the original should be sent to the Office of Academics, electronically. (A concerned citizen/parent may submit only one SMCISD Reconsideration of Library Materials request at a time in order to give each request the thoughtful consideration that it deserves.)

Step 2:

Upon receipt of the form, the campus administrator shall appoint a reconsideration committee and notify committee members within 10 days* of receiving the request for reconsideration form. The reconsideration committee shall include the librarian and at least one member of the instructional staff who has experience using the challenged resource with students or is familiar with the challenged resource's content. Other members of the committee may include District-level staff, library staff, secondary-level students, parents, and any other appropriate individuals.

*for purposes of this policy, “days” shall mean District business days

Step 3:

Within 10 days of appointment of the committee the District shall provide members of the committee the relevant materials to review. If additional time is required to obtain and distribute the materials for review, all members of the committee shall be informed that a reasonable extension of time is needed. 

Step 4:

All members of the committee shall review the challenged library material in its entirety and will utilize the “the SMCISD Reconsideration Rubric for Library Materials” to determine whether the material conforms to this policy and whether the material will continue to be available in the library. The committee shall prepare a written report of its findings.

Step 5:

Absent extenuating circumstances, the written report shall be provided by the campus administrator to the Superintendent, the school librarian, the individual submitting the request for reconsideration, and any other appropriate administrators within 60 days of the District providing the material to the committee members. In calculating timelines under this policy, the day the committee is provided the materials is “day zero.” The following business day is “day one.” 

• Extensions of time due to extenuating circumstances shall take into consideration the time necessary to convene the committee members, the amount of material being reviewed, and any other pending reconsideration requests being handled by the committee. 

• An extension of any deadline shall be promptly communicated to the individual who submitted the request for reconsideration.