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Book Challenge Process

General Information and Guidance

LTISD encourages parents and staff members to discuss concerns regarding instructional or library resources  directly with campus librarians, teachers, and/or campus administrators as part of the informal reconsideration process. Librarians, classroom teachers and administrators can provide insights into the selection process and educational goals of these resources. Parents that wish to restrict their own child’s access to instructional resources may do so at any time by accessing new parental control features in our online library catalog (see below for further details), contacting their campus librarian, classroom teacher or administrator.  Parents will be provided an alternate resource immediately, which still meets instructional goals, following an informal conversation should they express concerns regarding instructional resources for their own child.

If, after this, concerned parents or staff still wish to proceed with a formal challenge, the district will convene a reconsideration committee who will make a recommendation to the Curriculum and Instruction department regarding the resource.  

How to initiate a Formal Challenge of an Instructional Resource:

To initiate a formal challenge of a book or other resource, please complete and submit the Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Resource" form. This form should be used only if the informal challenge process has been completed and the challenger remains dissatisfied with the outcome. Upon submission, a District representative will contact you to commence the formal reconsideration process.

The information below provides the State of Texas Legal Framework (EF Legal) as well as Lake Travis ISD policies (EF Local) to help the community better understand the process for the reconsideration of any instructional resource.

Please note that Policy EF has been updated and will be reflected in LTISD Board Policy during the fall semester. Policy EF will be replaced by Policies EFA and EFB.  Should you require a copy of the new policies in the interim, please contact the superintendent's office.  The processes referenced below align to new policy guidelines.  

Who can challenge a book or instructional resource?

A parent of a District student, any employee, a student 18 year or older, or any District resident may formally challenge an instructional resource used in the District’s educational program on the basis of appropriateness.

What is the reconsideration process?  

  • Informal Reconsideration

When the District or a campus receives an objection to the appropriateness of an instructional or library material, the appropriate administrator or designee shall try to resolve the matter informally. The administrator or designee shall explain the selection process and discuss the intended educational purpose for the instructional material. If appropriate, the administrator or designee may offer a concerned parent an alternative instructional material to be used by that parent’s child in place of the challenged material.

If the complainant wishes to make a formal challenge, the administrator or designee shall provide the complainant a copy of applicable policies and the link to the district form to request a formal reconsideration of the instructional material.

  • Formal Reconsideration

A complainant shall make any formal challenge to an instructional material on the form provided on the District’s website. Upon receipt of the form, a District-level administrator shall appoint a reconsideration committee.
The reconsideration committee shall include at least one member of the instructional staff who has experience using the challenged material with students or is familiar with the challenged material’s content. Other members of the committee may include District level staff, secondary-level students, parents, and any other appropriate
individuals.

All members of the committee shall review the challenged instructional material in its entirety. As soon as reasonably possible, the committee shall meet and determine whether the challenged material conforms to the principles of selection set out in this policy and whether the challenged material will continue to be used in the educational
program. The committee shall prepare a written report of its findings. The Superintendent, other appropriate administrators, and the complainant shall receive copies of the report.

  • Reconsideration Committee

Annually, the District shall seek interested individuals for and establish a pool of volunteers for library material reconsideration committees. The pool shall include parents, instructional staff, campus administration, and District administration. Individuals interested in serving on a book reconsideration committee shall submit an application and will be required to sign a volunteer agreement, acknowledging the committee process and agreeing to volunteer
responsibilities and confidentiality. Membership in the reconsideration committee pool shall be for one school year, but volunteers can reapply at the end of their term.

When a resource is formally challenged at your child's campus, the director of curriculum and instruction will select members from this pool to serve as a representative on the committee.  A new committee shall be formed for each challenged resource.  

  • What does the formal reconsideration committee consider when making a decision?

Students’ First Amendment rights are implicated by the removal of books from the shelves of a school library. A school district cannot remove materials from a library for the purpose of denying students access to ideas with which the district disagrees. A district may remove materials because they are pervasively vulgar or based solely upon the educational suitability of the books in question. Bd. of Educ. v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982)

The committee decides if a book is educationally suitable or pervasively vulgar by determining the appropriateness of the resource for its intended educational use. No challenged instructional resource shall be removed solely because of the ideas expressed therein.  Book review committee members are selected in compliance with school board policy. The district intends to select parental representation to include multiple points of view. These parents must have a student at the campus on which the library resource is being challenged.  Committee membership shall be an odd number including parents, librarians and instructional staff members familiar with the material's use and content.

Appeal

The complainant may appeal the decision of the reconsideration committee in accordance with appropriate complaint policies, starting with the appropriate administrator. [See DGBA , FNG, and GF

Lake Travis ISD shall review these policies every three years in relation to current processes and procedures and revise as necessary.