School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Regulation 6-60.1
INSTRUCTION
Textbooks
- Textbooks
Textbooks will be selected to support and enrich the goals and objectives of the curriculum. A wide range of abilities and interests and the diversity of differing points of view in a democratic society will be considered in t he selection of textbooks.
The selection process is described below.
- Textbook selection will be the ultimate responsibility of the School Board which will delegate the preliminary screening to curriculum committees.
- Curriculum committees will be formed for each of the following areas:
- Art
- Mathematics
- Business Education
- Music
- Foreign Language
- Science
- Health and Physical Education
- Social Studies
- Home Economics
- Special Education
- Language Arts
- Technology Education
- Marketing Education
- Curriculum committees will be composed of representatives of the following groups:
- Parents
- Principals
- Students
- Teachers
- Librarians
- Counselors
- Program Coordinators
- Specific procedures will be used for the selection of committee members by the Department of Instructional Support Services.
- The curriculum committee will establish criteria for assessing textbooks. Criteria may include such items as the following:
- Content
- (1) Is the material educationally significant?
- (2) Does the content correlate with the school division's goals and objectives for the curriculum area?
- (3) Is the material valid and up-to-date?
- (4) Are the reading level and vocabulary appropriate for the student?
- (5) Does the material fit the scope and sequence of the local curriculum?
- (6) Are the format and artistic quality appealing?
- (7) Are charts, maps, and tables accurate and clearly presented?
- (8) Does the text reinforce basic skills?
- Date of publication
- Cost
- Reputation and significance of the authors and publishers
- Reviews found in standard selection sources
- Physical characteristics
- Is the binding sturdy enough?
- Is the paper quality durable?
- Are the typeface and type size suitable for the age of the students?
- Treatment of sensitive areas
- Are all sides of an issue treated fairly and objectively?
- Are racial, sexual, religious, and ethnic stereotypes avoided?
- Have the roles of minority groups been presented with integrity?
- Criteria for rating textbooks will be presented for approval.
- The curriculum committee will rate those textbooks on the state-approved list according to the established criteria.
- Should a committee wish to study a textbook not on the state-adopted list, the committee will first have examined and evaluated those books on the state list. This process should be verified in writing.
- The appropriate program coordinator will develop a schedule for sending textbooks selected for consideration and rating forms to the schools for the review of teachers.
- At the conclusion of its review of textbooks and its analysis of data, the committee will recommend one of the following:
- Re-adopt materials currently in use
- Adopt new materials
- Continue study for a specified period of time
- Textbooks being recommended for adoption will be displayed in public libraries for the review of citizens thirty (30) days prior to consideration of the textbooks.
- A summary of citizens' reviews will be presented to the committee before its final recommendation.
- Written recommendations from the committee will be presented in a standard format with specified contents.
- First and second choice with author, title, publisher, and copyright data
- Justification for each choice
- Implementation recommendations
- Cost and quality of each text
- The written recommendations will be presented to the School Board for a selection decision.
Approved by Superintendent: July 16, 1991