NAC390.140. Review and reconsideration of selection of materials that are challenged.

     1. Each school district shall include in its written procedures for the selection of supplemental textbooks and the resources to be used in media centers a procedure for reviewing and reconsidering the selection of materials that are challenged. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 6, such a procedure must provide that the complainant first submit the complaint to the principal of the school for which the challenged materials have been selected. Upon receipt of such a complaint, the principal shall:

     (a) Explain to the complainant the school district’s procedures and criteria for the selection of materials;

     (b) Attempt to resolve the issue informally;

     (c) Inform the complainant of his or her right to file with the school district a formal request for reconsideration on a form developed and distributed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and

     (d) Forward a copy of the complaint to the superintendent of the local school district.

     2. The materials so challenged may remain in use by the school until a review is completed by a committee selected by the board of trustees. The committee:

     (a) Must be comprised of at least one teacher, librarian, representative of school administrators, pupil and parent;

     (b) May be expanded to include other interested members of the community as members also; and

     (c) May be appointed as a standing committee to serve for the school year.

     3. The members of the committee shall consider the challenged material in its entirety with both the specific objections and the context of the objections in mind. They shall also consult reviews of the materials from the standard sources of reviews referenced in paragraph (d) of subsection 2 of NAC 390.130.

     4. In reviewing the challenged material, the committee shall consider:

     (a) The best interests of the pupils;

     (b) The requirements of the curriculum; and

     (c) The principles of freedom of speech and the right to a redress of grievances inherent in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and expressed in the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement as disseminated by the American Library Association.

     5. The committee shall, within 30 school days after the complainant submits the request for reconsideration, render a decision and report the decision publicly.

     6. If:

     (a) The complaint is based upon noncompliance by a school district with its written procedures; and

     (b) All administrative remedies have been exhausted at the school district level,

Ê the complainant may appeal directly to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Education, eff. 4-22-93)