The Formal Reconsideration
Process and Procedures
(Book Challenge)

Occasional objections to materials will be made, despite the quality of a district's Selection Guidelines. Persons who wish to protest the inclusion of specific items in school libraries, classroom libraries, or a classroom curriculum resource will follow the procedure given below. These steps are intended to give all parties an equal chance to be heard.

If you have a concern

• Read the material in its entirety. Generally, passages or parts of a resource should not be pulled out of context. The values and faults should be weighed against each other and the opinions based on the materials as a whole 

• If you have a question about a book/classroom resource (textbook, video, audio file, etc), please reach out to your child’s librarian, teacher, and/or principal.

Begin at your child’s school

• Reach out to your school's principal or librarian to discuss your concerns. School staff will try to resolve concerns about a resource informally using the following procedure:

• An attempt will be made at the building level to informally resolve the problem. 

• The principal or designee shall explain the district's/school's selection process, the criteria for selection, and the qualifications of the professional staff who selected the questioned resource (view the Bryan ISD Library Selection Policy and Guidelines). 

• The principal or designee shall explain the intended educational purpose of the resource and any additional information regarding its use.   

• If appropriate, the principal or designee may offer a concerned parent an alternative instructional resource to be used by that parent's child in place of the challenged resource. 

• If the complainant wishes to make a formal challenge, the principal or designee shall provide the complainant a link to the Bryan formal Reconsideration of an Instructional Resource request (see below).

• Upon receipt of the form, the principal or associate superintendent as applicable shall appoint a reconsideration committee and notify the campus administrator of the request. The requester will also be notified of the receipt of the request.

The Reconsideration (Challenge) Process

The Reconsideration Committee

Per EF LOCAL INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES, a Reconsideration Committee will include at least one instructional staff member who has experience using the challenged resource with students or is familiar with the challenged resource’s content. Other committee members will include District level staff, library staff, secondary-level students, parents, and appropriate individuals. The principal, teacher(s), or librarian involved with the dispute should not be a review committee member.

Guiding Questions and Principals for the Committee to Consider:

Does the resource being reviewed:

• • Support and is consistent with the general educational goals of the state and District and the aims and objectives of individual schools and specific courses; is it consistent with the District and campus improvement plans?

  • Meet high standards for artistic quality and/or literary style, authenticity, educational significance, factual content, physical format, presentation, readability, and technical quality?

  • Relevant to the subject area and for the age, ability level, learning styles, and social and emotional development of the students for whom it is selected?

  • Designed to help students gain an awareness of our pluralistic society?

  • Designed to provide information that will motivate students and staff to examine their own attitudes and behavior; understand their duties, responsibilities, rights, and privileges as citizens participating in our society; and make informed choices in their daily lives (Board Policy EF(LOCAL) - INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES)?

Also:

• • Libraries have diverse materials reflecting different points of view, and a library’s mission is to provide access to information to all users.

  • All library users have a First Amendment right to read, view, and listen to library resources.

  • Any person has the right to express concerns about library resources and expect to have the objection taken seriously.

  • When library resources are reconsidered, the principles of the freedom to read, listen, and view is defended rather than specific materials.

  • A questioned item will be considered in its entirety, not judged solely on portions taken out of context.

  • Parents or guardians have the right to guide their children's reading, viewing, and listening but must give the same right to other parents/guardians.

  • Questioned items will remain in circulation during the reconsideration process.

  • The personal identification of each committee member should remain anonymous to protect the objectivity of the deliberation.

  • The committee’s recommendation is to objectively evaluate the material within the scope of School Board Policy and the BISD Selection Guidelines.

The Process for the Reconsideration of a Resource

The Reconsideration Committee will review the challenged material as soon as possible. All members must share copies of the book. All members must read the book in its entirety. Please note that some requests may take four-eight weeks to complete.

The review committee chairs and members will take the following steps after receiving the Reconsideration Request:

• Secure a copy of the challenged material for each committee member, or available copies the committee members can read and pass on to the next member.

• Read, listen to, or view the material in its entirety.

  • Check general acceptance of the material by reading reviews and consulting recommended lists/awards.

  • Ensure the material meets the BISD Board Policy and Library Selection Guidelines.

  • Weigh the value and faults of the material against each other and form opinions based on the material as a whole (not on passages pulled out of context)

• Then, the committee must meet face-to-face or by Zoom meeting. In matters requiring a vote, all members shall have an equal vote.

  • The committee must discuss and decide on one of the following courses of action: retain the resource, relocate the resource to a different level, or remove the resource from all BISD library collections. 

  • The committee's written decision (including a minority report if needed) shall be presented to the complainant, the Superintendent of Schools and Cabinet, and the school librarian(s) within ten school days.    

After the Reconsideration Committee has met, if the complainant is not satisfied with the decision of the District Reconsideration Committee, a written appeal can be made. See the Bryan ISD Grievance Process for more information.