Temecula school board delays vote on literature complaint process

A vote to amend the Temecula Valley Unified School District’s policy for complaints concerning instructional materials was postponed by the school board Tuesday night, as minor revisions to the policy’s wording are still pending.

Once finalized, the amended policy will make it easier for parents to opt out of assigned reading materials for their children.

Board members requested changes to the policy, which dates back to 1990 with one revision in 2004, following its recent approval of the controversial novel “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson. The novel, about a high school student who is raped at a party and subsequently ostracized by friends, became assigned reading for district high school students this school year.

“Whereas before parents were just provided with a way to voice their complaint against a book being read in the classroom, this is a way for them to request their child not participate at all,” said Melanie Norton, spokeswoman for the district.

The district’s English Curriculum Committee presented its policy revisions to the board at Tuesday’s meeting, including the addition of a form for parents to request alternative reading material. The form requires parental submittal at least two weeks prior to the start of classroom reading assignments, but board members don’t want to put a time limit on it.

According to Norton, changes to the policy’s time-limit language will be made and then brought back for consent at the next board meeting Dec. 8.

“Their hope is that when students receive their syllabus, parents will look at the assigned books for the year and make a decision at that point,” Norton said.

The revised policy also calls for the district to provide a link on its Web site to the California Department of Education’s recommended reading list by Dec. 17, along with a list of core literature for grades 9-12. The policy also recommends that the reading list for grades 6-8 be posted by Jan. 29, and the list for grades K-5 be posted by April 1.

Maggie Avants is the education editor for SWRNN. Comments or story suggestions can be sent to mavants.swrnn@gmail.com. Follow SWRNNedu on Twitter!

Tags: California Department of Education, Laurie Halse Anderson, literature, Maggie Avants, Melanie Norton, Speak, SWRNN, temecula valley unified school district

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