Censorship Process in Buncombe County Schools

All school systems in the United States have a process in place that allows parents to  challenge instructional materials, Buncombe County is no different.  Here’s how that process works in Buncombe county:

  1. Challengers must first fill out the Inspection of and Objection to Instructional Materials form which will be submitted the the school’s MTAC.
  2. The schools MTAC, or Media and Technology Advisory Committee, reviews the entire text to weight its educational “merits against the alleged weaknesses,” using “professional reviewing sources when possible.” From the day the principal receives the report, the MTAC has 15 school days to finish and submit reports to the principal and the complaining parent. If all parties are satisfied with the MTAC’s decision, the process ends here.
  3. If the parent is not satisfied with the MTAC’s decision, they have 10 school days from the time they receive the report to submit a Request for Review of Building-Level Recommendation to the school board.  A community level MTAC will then review the text and the building level MTAC’s decision and “conduct any further investigation as it deems appropriate.” Within 15 days of receiving the reconsideration request, unless more time is  deemed necessary for the case, the community committee will prepare a written report to be submitted directly to the board of education. 
  4. The Board of Education will review the reports given by both the school and community level committees and conduct any further investigation that it deems appropriate. The School Board has 30 business days to make a “final determination.”

Note: Policy states that these determinations can only be made for one school, not the entire system, meaning, a if a book’s use is challenged in a particular school, the decision made by the Board will only effect the books use in that single school, not in other schools in the system.

Note also: Board Policy also states that “no instructional materials shall be removed from the classroom or media
collection until the appeal procedure is completed. ” Want to know why this rule is in place?

See Also

Board Policy 3210, the original document.

Eric Grant, 6-13 English Language Arts Specialist for Buncombe County Schools, Interviewed

 

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