HCPSS MPIA Request #2022-102

Requestor
Sam Baxter
Requested Information
HCPSS Policy 8040, Selection of Instructional Materials, provides a procedure for approval and removal of instructional materials in classrooms and media centers.

For the following instructional materials:

1. Out of Darkness, Ashley Hope Peres
2. Gender Queer A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
3. Lawn Boy
4. This Book is Gay by James Dawson
5. From Archie to Zach
6. Rainbow Revolutionaries Sarah Prager
7. My Maddie Gayle Pittman
8. Poet X
9. Worm Loves Worm
10. All other instructional materials for which a request for reevaluation under HCPSS Policy 8040 was received from 1 February 2022 to the present

The following information is requested for each of the instructional materials listed in 1-10 above:
A. The status of the reevaluation process for each instructional material

B. All existing documents that shed light on the reasoning of the committee and individual members for and against retention of each book to include the number of committee members for the removal of each book and the number of committee members against the removal of each book.

C. Any other HCPSS documentation of the reasons considered for retention, reasons considered for removal, and reasons for final determination on the question of retention or removal of each book to include legal council and other documentation, emails, notes, and discussions by the committee and/or HCPSS and MSDE personnel and consultants regarding these instructional materials in general or individually.

D. For all instructional materials (1-10 above) for which a final determination has not been made and for which a request for reevaluation has been made and/or a review is in process, I request a copy of the reasons under consideration for removal, reasons under consideration for retention, and any other documents containing information under consideration with regard to the instructional materials to include legal council and other documentation, emails, notes, and discussions by the committee and/or HCPSS and MSDE personnel and consultants regarding these instructional materials in general or individually.

In addition, I request a list of any additional instructional materials for which a request for reevaluation has been submitted, a reevaluation is in process, and/or a final determination has been made for instructional materials in this category for which information has not been provided as part of this request or MPIA #2022-087 from October 2021 to the present.
Date Received
Status
Complete
Response Notes

Responsive to this request, our initial response indicated the materials in items 1-9 have not changed status since our response to MPIA 2022-087: https://mpia.hcpss.org/requests/2022-087, nor have additional materials been submitted for review to date. Via an updated response, we provided a memorandum (attached below) which indicated the status of three titles in the above list which had since had a determination made. Additionally, for the remaining items in 1-9, for which a final determination has not been made, that response indicated there are no additional records that are considered by the committee in making a determination outside the information provided in the Request for Reevaluation of Instructional Materials - 2_22 - Form Responses document under the prior MPIA, with the exception of oral discussions and meetings for which no record is available. Available documentation regarding reasons for or against retention of each book by the committee for those with a determination are included below. As noted under the prior MPIA, no minutes are taken during review committee meetings. Additionally, per clarification your request includes other formal documentation considered in the retention/removal decision by the school district, school board, and superintendent, the response letters (attached below) address the superintendent’s designee consideration of the committee reasons in the documents above and final determination. Please note, per HCPSS Policy 8040 Implementation Procedures (VI.) Review and Reevaluation of Materials In Use, the Instructional Materials Criteria/Review Committee (CRC) process does not involve Board of Education evaluation of materials/decisions unless appealed.

Responsive Documents
Under MPIA GP § 4-330, we have redacted sociological information where it contains age and/or has the potential to pose a risk to individual safety or privacy. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), which restricts access to student records, and MPIA GP § 4-313, which prevents disclosure of school district records pertaining to the “home address, home telephone number, biography, family, physiology, religion, academic achievement, or physical or mental ability of a student,” we have redacted such individual student information.

*Some request language is summarized to include the requester's specific document requests and legally protected information (such as personally identifiable information of a student) or personal, defamatory and malicious content removed at the discretion of the school system.

**Responses containing legally protected information available only to the person of interest are omitted from the above report.

***Howard County Public Schools reserves the right to remove erroneous or outdated documents from this site.