Board discusses DOE removal list and proposed policy; teachers and media specialists raise concerns about classroom sets and AP materials

Board members and staff discussed a proposed policy responding to a Department of Education list of titles identified for removal and clarified procedures for returning books to school media centers.

District staff said the board’s prior action removed titles on the DOE list from circulation pending policy adoption, but the books remain in district custody. The proposed rule language under review would require board approval before a previously removed title could be returned to circulation; staff said educators could make curricular cases to the superintendent and principals for specific returns, and those requests could ultimately come to the board if required by the policy.

Board members raised practical concerns: media specialists and teachers reported classroom sets used for advanced-placement or competition curricula (an example cited was a Latin classroom set used for contests) are currently out of circulation because the district’s cataloging system (Destiny) has not been updated for every set. A board member urged staff to prioritize cataloging to return classroom materials to classrooms quickly. Members also raised the example of multiple editions of The Diary of Anne Frank, noting that abridged or edition differences may explain why some copies were flagged while others previously used for instruction were acceptable.

Staff said they will bring the proposed policy language back for board consideration at the next regular meeting and recommended that parents and teachers contact their school media specialists for immediate classroom-level requests. No formal board vote was taken during the workshop.