Generally

The Clarke County School Board is responsible for the selection and use of instructional materials.

The superintendent or superintendent’s designee creates and updates, as necessary, guidelines and procedures for the selection of instructional materials. The guidelines and procedures are designed to ensure that appropriate instructional materials are selected and provide an opportunity for the professional staff and community to participate and be informed on the selection and use of instructional materials.

Parents may inspect, on request, any instructional material used as part of their student’s curriculum.

Clarke County School Board ensures parental notification of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content.

Clarke County School Board provides nonexplicit instructional material and related academic activities to any student whose parent requests that the student be provided with such instructional material and/or activities.

The superintendent is responsible for creating, implementing, and periodically updating procedures for implementing this policy. Those procedures will include

• a process for identifying instructional materials, including supplementary materials, with sexually explicit content;

• a process for identifying, prior to the start of each school year, any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content that may be used during the upcoming school year;

• a process by which principals will provide written notice to parents at least 30 days prior to the use of any instructional materials with sexually explicit content, that (a) specifically identifies the instructional materials with sexually explicit content, (b) informs parents of their right to review such instructional materials, and (c) informs parents of their right to have their child use, upon request, in a non-punitive manner, alternative instructional materials that do not include sexually explicit content;

• a process by which parents may change their decision with respect to the use of alternative instructional materials by providing written notice;

•  a process for maintaining a current list of instructional materials with sexually explicit content by grade and subject matter on the division’s website; and

• a process for online access for parental review of instructional materials that include sexually explicit content unless such review is not technically feasible or is prohibited by copyright protection. The process shall include provisions requiring schools to have instructional materials including sexually explicit content available for review by parents.

The purpose of this regulation is to outline the processes and procedures for the identification of instructional materials with sexually explicit content assigned in classroom instruction, notifying parents in advance, providing parents the ability to inspect and review those materials, and ensuring parents have the opportunity to request alternative materials, as outlined in Clarke County School Board Policy IIA.