Cautionary Notice: As added and amended by SBX3 4 (Ch. 12, Third Extraordinary Session, Statutes of 2009) and ABX4 2 (Ch. 2, Fourth Extraordinary Session, Statutes of 2009), Education Code 42605 grants district flexibility in "Tier 3" categorical programs. The Vista Unified School District has accepted this flexibility and thus is deemed in compliance with the statutory or regulatory program and funding requirements for these programs for the 2008-2009 through 2012-2013 fiscal years. As a result, the district may temporarily suspend certain provisions of the following policy or regulation that reflect these requirements. For further information, please contact the Superintendent or designee.
The Board of Trustees desires that district instructional materials, as a whole, present a broad spectrum of knowledge and viewpoints, reflect the diversity of our society, and enhance the use of multiple teaching strategies and technologies. The Board shall adopt instructional materials based on a determination that such materials are aligned with the state content standards, meet other criteria specified in law, and are an effective learning resource to help students achieve grade-level competency.
To ensure that instructional materials effectively support the district's adopted courses of study, the selection of textbooks, technology-based materials, other educational materials, and tests shall be aligned with the development and evaluation of the district's curriculum and standards.
The Superintendent or designee shall establish a process by which instructional materials shall be reviewed for recommendation to the Board.
This process shall involve teachers in a substantial manner. (Education Code 60002)
All recommended instructional materials shall be available for public inspection at the district office.
Individuals who participate in selecting and evaluating instructional materials shall not have a conflict of interest, as defined in administrative regulation, in the materials being reviewed.
Complaints concerning instructional materials shall be handled in accordance with law, Board policy, and administrative regulation.
The Board's priority in the selection of instructional materials is to ensure that all students in grades K-12 are provided with instructional materials that are aligned to state content standards in the core curriculum areas of reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and history-social science. Students in grades K-8 shall be provided with instructional materials adopted by the State Board of Education.
The district may pilot instructional materials, using a representative sample of classrooms for a specified period of time during a school year, in order to determine how well the materials support the district's curricular goals and academic standards. Feedback from teachers piloting the materials shall be made available to the Board before the materials are adopted.
Public Hearing on Sufficiency of Instructional Materials
The Board shall annually conduct one or more public hearings on the sufficiency of the district's instructional materials. (Education Code 60119)
The hearing shall be held on or before the end of the eighth week from the first day students attend school for that year. (Education Code 60119)
The Board encourages participation by parents/guardians, teachers, interested community members, and bargaining unit leaders at the hearing. The Superintendent or designee shall post, 10 days prior to the hearing and in three public places within the district, a notice containing the time, place, and purpose of the hearing. The hearing shall not take place during or immediately following school hours. (Education Code 60119)
At the hearing(s), the Board shall determine, through a resolution, whether each student in each school has sufficient textbooks and/or instructional materials that are aligned to the state content standards adopted pursuant to Education Code 60605 in each of the following subjects: (Education Code 60119)
1. Mathematics
2. Science
3. History-social science
4. English language arts, including the English language development component of an adopted program
The Board shall also make a written determination as to whether each student enrolled in a foreign language or health course has sufficient textbooks or instructional materials that are consistent with the content and cycles of the state curriculum frameworks. The Board shall determine the availability of science laboratory equipment, as applicable to science laboratory courses offered in grades 9-12. (Education Code 60119)
For the 2008-09 through 2012-13 fiscal years, the Board shall also make a determination that all students within the district who are enrolled in the same course have "identical" standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials from the same adoption cycle, as defined in Education Code 1240.3, 60119, and 60422. (Education Code 1240.3, 42605)
If the Board determines that there are insufficient textbooks and/or instructional materials, the Board shall provide information to classroom teachers and to the public setting forth, for each school in which an insufficiency exists, the percentage of students who lack sufficient
standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials in each subject area and the reasons that each student does not have sufficient textbooks and/or instructional materials. The Board shall take any action, except an action that would require reimbursement by the Commission of State Mandates, to ensure that each student has sufficient materials within two months of the beginning of the school year in which the determination is made. (Education Code 60119)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
220 Prohibition against discrimination
1240 County superintendent, general duties
1240.3 Definition of sufficiency for categorical flexibility
33050-33053 General waiver authority
33126 School accountability report card
35272 Education and athletic materials
42605 Tier 3 categorical flexibility
44805 Enforcement of course of studies; use of textbooks, rules and regulations
49415 Maximum textbook weight
51501 Nondiscriminatory subject matter
60000-60005 Instructional materials, legislative intent
60010 Definitions
60040-60052 Instructional requirements and materials
60060-60062 Requirements for publishers and manufacturers
60070-60076 Prohibited acts (re instructional materials)
60110-60115 Instructional materials on alcohol and drug education
60119 Public hearing on sufficiency of materials
60200-60210 Elementary school materials
60226 Requirements for publishers and manufacturers
60350-60352 Core reading program instructional materials
60400-60411 High school textbooks
60510-60511 Donation for sale of obsolete instructional materials
60605 State content standards
60605.8 Common Core Standards
60605.86-60605.88 Supplemental instructional materials aligned with Common Core Standards
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
9505-9530 Instructional materials
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Flexibility Provisions in the 2008 and 2009 State Budget: Policy Considerations for Governance Teams, Budget Advisory, March 2009
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
01-05 Guidelines for Piloting Textbooks and Instructional Materials, September 2001
Standards for Evaluating Instructional Materials for Social Content, 2000
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
Association of American Publishers: http://www.publishers.org
California Academic Content Standards Commission, Common Core Standards: http://www.scoe.net/castandards
California Department of Education: http://www.cde.ca.gov
Policy VISTA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: May 19, 2011 Vista, California