Instructional Materials Overview

The selection of core instructional materials is governed by School Board Policy 2520.  The policy provides a guide for the selection, adoption, purchase, and procedures for parents/guardians/or residents to challenge adoption and/or existing materials.  

In accordance with current legislation in HB 1467 -Public Participation in the Instructional Materials Review Process, requires that each district school board that holds meetings of committees convened for the purpose of selecting instructional materials for recommendation to the district school board must be noticed and open to the public, and must include parents of district students. Click here for Parental Rights Webpage for Florida Department of Education. Additionally, the bill modifies the requirement that each school district publish on its website a list of all instructional materials to include those used for specified required instruction.  In the sections below, each of the requirements in the bill are detailed. 

Current Instructional Materials

The Core Instructional Resources for the 2023-2024 school year are aligned to:

  • B.E.S.T. Standards- English Language Arts
  • B.E.S.T. Standards- Mathematics
  • N.G.S.S.S.- Science
  • N.G.S.S.S.- Social Studies

For additional information on Florida State Standards visit, CPALMS.  

Despite the quality of the selection process, occasional objections to instructional materials will be made.  The Board supports the principles of intellectual freedom inherent in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and expressed in the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association, the School Library Bill of Rights of the American Association of School Librarians, and Freedom to Read of the American Library Association. 

Each school principal should review the selection and objection rules with the staff annually, emphasizing the ethical considerations in attempting to handle resident complaints with courtesy and dignity.  It is recommended that the school administrator or designee receiving a complaint regarding instructional materials try to resolve the issue at the school level.

Parents/Guardians or residents with objections to existing instructional materials will work directly with the teacher and school administration to discuss their concerns.

To facilitate a successful resolution parents should provide the school with the following information:

  • Name of Teacher
  • Name of Course
  • Date range of content assignment
  • Copy of assignment if available
  • Details of the concern

 

Once the above information has been collected by a school representative, the building administration will respond within 48 hours.  This time will allow for the administration to research the inquiry and schedule a conference to address the concern.

The principal or designee will then have an opportunity to explain the reason(s) for the use of the material and to answer questions the parent or resident has about the selection.

In the event that the complainant is not satisfied with the school-based conference and proposed resolution, the following steps shall be taken.

  1. The complainant shall fill out the form titled Request for Review of Instructional Materials available on the district website, and complete the form in its entirety including a signature. The form will go to form will be sent to Director for the Office for Leading and Learning, the instructional materials challenge committee, and the appropriate area superintendent.
  2. The completed form and the material(s) in question shall be studied by a materials review committee appointed on an ad hoc basis by the Office for Leading and Learning. The committee shall consist of two (2) administrators from similar schools; two (2) teachers in the appropriate subject area/grade; one (1) teacher from another subject area/grade; a learning design coach; a guidance counselor; one (1) student from the appropriate grade level or who is accomplished in the specific subject area (senior high school only); one (1) lay person from School Advisory Council; and two (2) representatives designated by the Director, Office for Leading and Learning.
  3. The committee shall meet within thirty (30) school work days of receipt by the principal of the Objection of an Individual Assignment or Existing Instructional Materials form.
  4. The committee will solicit professional written reviews of the materials and/or comments from appropriate audiences or resource persons.
  5. The committee shall read/view the material in its entirety, consider the reviews of the material, study the comments on the complainant’s Objection of an Individual Assignment or Existing Instructional Materials form, and consider one (1) or more of the evaluative criteria and render a recommendation based on a majority vote.
  6. Within five (5) school days of its final meeting, the committee shall prepare a written recommendation for the Principal.  The committee’s final recommendation may be any or a combination of the following: (1) allow the challenged material to maintain its current status; (2) limit the educational use of the challenged material.
  7. Within ten (10) school days after receipt of the committee recommendation, the principal shall inform the complainant of the decision of the committee.
  8. Access to challenged materials shall not be restricted during the request for the review process unless the parent requests alternative materials for their child.

Annual Instructional Materials Adoption Process

Pasco Schools is currently in a K-12 Social Studies adoption cycle click here for detailed information. 

The cycle for the adoption of instructional materials by content is published by the FLDOE and is governed by state statute. Additional detailed  information can be found on the FLDOE Instructional Materials Website.  

Click here for detailed information about 4 phases of the Adoption Process

Phase 1

Setting the Criteria for High Quality Materials

  • Administer Perception Survey
  • Develop Instructional Materials Perception Survery (IMET)
  • Finalize Vendor Call criteria

 

Phase 2

Narrowing the Choices

  • Narrowing Team- Instructional leaders collaborate to identify materials that align to criteria in Vendor Call
  • Content Knowledge- Senior Content Specialist educate narrowing team on the connection between the curriculum and the standards
  • Dig deep into the resources using the IMET tool

Phase 3

Gathering Stakeholder Input

  • Senior Content Specialist develop "Try and Apply" lessons for school content teams
  • District staff hosts Vendor Nights where publishers demonstrate effective use of resources in lesson planning and instruction
  • Instructional materials are posted on website for families and community members to access
  • District hosts Family and Community Events
  • Parents, guardians, and community members are invited to an informational session that reviews the standards and what students will be learning
  • Parents, guardians, and community members can review the resources and ask questions to publishers
  • Parent and School feedback on materials is collected and reviewed

 

Phase 4

Approval Process

  • School Board Workshop
  • Public Hearing
  • School Board Vote
  • Window for a Petition for Reconsideration (30 days after Final Board approval)
    • Courses open for petition- 2102371, 2102373
    • Personal Finance and Money Management- Lampo Group, Ramsey Ed.  Ramsey Classroom
    • Username- Studentdemo@pasco.k12.fl.us
    • Password- Personalfinance

Library and Media Center Materials

Although materials are carefully selected, there can arise differences of opinion regarding suitable materials. Custodial parents and legal guardians may request restricted access to library/media centers materials for their student by completing the annual consent form located in myStudent and provided each year at registration.  Individual(s) requesting that material be withdrawn from or restricted within the collection may complete a form which is available on the district website. During the challenge process, the book is only removed from the collection if the challenge is due to alleged pornographic or sexually explicit content. The book would then be removed within 5 school days of receipt of the objection and remain unavailable to students of that school until the objection is resolved. (HB 1069)   Click here to find materials located in your school's media collection.

Challenge Process 

1. The principal and District Library Media Specialist meets with the individual(s) to hear the complaint. 

2. Upon closure of that meeting, if there is no resolution, paperwork is given to the individual(s) to begin the challenge process. 

 23-24 Media/Library Materials Challenge

3. The Mach form is filled out by individual(s) and the challenge is sent to the school principal. 

4. School Advisory Council convenes and the item in question is evaluated. The principal provides the committee’s decision to the individual(s) in writing. 

5. If a school level resolution does not meet the individual(s)’s satisfaction, a request is made for a district level appeal. Steps outlined in School Board Policy 2520 for District Level Appeals will be enacted to bring the matter to resolution.