KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knox County Schools Policy Committee on Monday considered making the review process for books and classroom materials in schools clearer.
This follows legislation that passed last year, the "Age Appropriate Materials Act." That bill requires school boards to review library materials and remove books deemed "inappropriate."
KCS already allows this, but board members considered language to clarify the existing policy on Monday.
"There's conversation about policy I-212, which is in relation to the Age-Appropriate Materials Act," said Erin Phillips, the KCS executive director of learning and literacy. "Outlined in that policy is information regarding parents' rights, teachers' rights and students' rights to question the age appropriateness of materials. And then it outlines the process that they would take if they had questions about those materials' appropriateness."
If a parent or someone at the school has an issue with a book, it could get reviewed and possibly removed from the school library. The additional language is meant to add clarification that the school can reconsider removals on a case-by-case basis. This policy was already in place when legislators enacted this law.
The district said they don't believe it's a big change — just solidifying the process for something they already do. Phillips said that sometimes there may be a text that a parent thinks is not age-appropriate, and that's where the policy kicks in.
"The parent would then complete the process, fill out the paperwork, articulating why they feel that material's not age-appropriate," Phillips said. "And then we'd go through a process internally, where we then read that material and we go through a series of questioning to determine if the parent is right and making the recommendation for us to reconsider that, or if we feel like it is age-appropriate, and it can remain in the school."
Yet, opinions vary. One person may think a book is inappropriate but another person may not. It is hard to define inappropriate to a broad band of parents, teachers and students, Phillips said.
This is why it depends on a case-by-case basis, where they read those texts, and then each parent is notified of the outcome.
If parents are dissatisfied with that outcome, they have the option to appeal the decision. The Tennessee Textbook Commission has an appeals process, and Phillips said that they just updated their language and their policy to include that process for parents.
"Our school media specialists or librarians go through an annual review of their circulation," Phillips said. "So the books in their circulation are reviewed. They do a weeding process. What's no longer relevant, what might not be age-appropriate, and they remove those texts from their circulation."
The executive director of learning and literacy for the district says she wants teachers to feel empowered to use additional material, but also said it has to meet curriculum requirements.
Last year, KCS went through two reviews and removed one book. They took the second book out of circulation for students, but teachers can still check it out.
"It's through the use of good content that we are able to do that for kids," Phillips said. "I'm hopeful that as we support teachers in the field, they develop this broader understanding of why those materials are important for students."