McKinney ISD residents who do not have a child enrolled in the district will no longer be able to challenge library materials.
The McKinney ISD board of trustees approved the library material procurement list and amended district policy regarding library material complaints at an Oct. 19 meeting.
The specifics
The district policy amendment aims to focus the library materials review process on district staff and parents of MISD students, said Jennifer Akins, McKinney ISD’s chief school improvement and federal programs officer.
“Reviewing a challenge requires staff time and district resources,” Akins said. “This change is intended to focus that work on concerns raised by those with a direct connection to our schools.”
In addition, the amendment includes measuring administrative deadlines in business days instead of calendar days, per district documents.
District staff will submit the amendment to the Texas Education Agency and, if approved, it will be in effect until June 30, 2028.
Although community members cannot challenge library materials, they are still involved in the selection process, said Amber Epperson, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning.
Diving deeper
District officials also approved the library material procurement list proposed by the district's Local School Library Advisory Council.
According to Epperson's presentation, as the council is developing the district’s library procurement list, members choose materials that:
Provide multiple viewpoints regarding controversial issues
Provide a variety of information that will help students make intelligent decisions in their day-to-day lives
Include accurate and factual content from authoritative sources
Have a high degree of appeal and interest
Offer global perspectives and meet the needs of individual learners
Represent diverse viewpoints and culture groups
Before library materials are purchased, they are reviewed by librarians, district staff, community members, the LSLAC and school board trustees, Epperson said.
“It doesn’t mean that the librarians will purchase every book on the list, but those books then become part of the collection source that they can use to order books for their libraries,” she said.
Parents can access the district’s online library catalog and receive a notification email each time a student checks out a book, per Epperson’s presentation. Parents can also restrict access to any library materials, she said.
Quote of note
“I love the fact that we have an opportunity for our parents to be an intimate part of this process for their kids,” trustee Kenneth Ussery said. “I just want to encourage our parents to really know what it is that their kids are reading and looking at.”
