A. Textbooks
1. Textbook adoption for system wide use shall be recommended by a committee made up of teachers and the supervisor. Such committee will work in cooperation with other teachers so that the choice of books may meet with the approval of the majority of teachers involved. Committee recommendations are subject to approval by the Board of Education.
2. Textbooks from state approved lists shall be furnished to all students without charge to the extent that state textbook funds are provided.
3. Textbook selection procedures must be in accordance with regulations of the State Department of Education.
4. Each textbook issued to a student will contain in the front inside cover a permanent registration with the following information, to be recorded by the teacher:
a. Date book was issued to the student
b. Student’s name in ink
c. Condition of the book when issued (poor, good, new)
d. Number of each book stamped inside
5. Each book will be properly identified with the Lebanon Special School District stamp.
6. Students and/ or parents will be held liable for paying for lost or destroyed textbooks or from wear and tear that exceeds that considered to be from normal use.
7. It will be the teacher’s responsibility to promote the care of and to maintain accurate records of all textbooks and other instructional material assigned to his/ her classroom. At least two copies of a list of all books issued to the individual teacher will be prepared, with one copy maintained in the school and the other filed with the supervisor of instruction.
B. Library Media Material
1. Library books will be selected from lists of standards set by the American Library Association or other recognized sources. The school’s media specialists will have the chief responsibility of library book selection.
2. Teachers in the instructional areas will be responsible for making up approved reading lists.
3. Non-print and software library media items will be selected to support and reinforce the school’s instructional program.
4. All library media materials shall be kept in the library and disbursement supervised by the school’s instructional program.
C. Instructional Materials and Supplies
The responsibility of the selection of instructional materials and supplies should be the coordinated efforts of teachers, principal, media specialists and supervisor of instruction. Recommendation for the purchase of materials and supplies is the responsibility of the supervisor of instruction following local, state, and federal regulations.
Materials for instruction will provide a wide range of learning opportunities and experiences on all levels of difficulty. They will present definite points of view and allow for the appropriateness of instructional value.
Materials will be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, level of comprehension, and social development of the student for whom the materials are chosen. Materials shall be selected to foster respect for and understanding of all human beings regardless of race, age, sex, creed, or religion.
D. In-Service Training and Professional Growth
1. Professional growth activities will be planned and scheduled to meet the needs of all teachers.
2. All teachers and principals are required to attend designated professional growth activities.
E. Curriculum Development
The Lebanon Special School District System will provide for curriculum planning as set forth by the State Board of Education. Each teacher shall participate in the development of the instructional program of the school and of the system. Courses of study will fall within the framework of the program outlined in the state rules and regulations.
Coordination of curriculum planning and development will be the responsibility of the supervisor of instruction.
Curriculum guides will be updated as needed.
F. Programs for Handicapped Students and Homebound Instruction
All children in the Lebanon Special School District, including the handicapped, whether these handicaps are academic, physical, emotional, psychological, or sociological shall be provided with an equal opportunity – the fundamental right of all individuals to receive a public education at public expense. Most children with handicaps where at all possible, shall receive instruction in a regular classroom setting.
The needs of certain children are so great that special instructional programs, special facilities, or services are necessary beyond that of the regular classroom program.
Children with severe mental, emotional, or physical handicaps will not be mainstreamed into the regular classroom situation until there has been a proper determination through established diagnostic procedures. Such assignment is to be in the best interest of the child’s development. Parents, if they object, are given the right to appeal as provided in the state regulations of the law.
All special assignments are made by the multi-disciplinary team in accordance with the age requirements of 0520-1-3-49 TCA. The multi-disciplinary team shall be made up of a classroom teacher, principal, resource teacher, school psychologist, supervisor of special education, and the parents.
G. Standardized Testing Program
The testing program for Lebanon Special School District Schools includes the following (specific information concerning the administration and scoring of tests will be provided at the time the test is given):
1. Mental Ability Test -
2. Achievement Test – In the spring, achievement tests will be administered to third through eighth grades.
3. Special individual tests for certain pupils, to be arranged through the office when needed.
4. Other Tests:
a. Diagnostic Reading Tests
b. Tests by the psychological team of Lebanon and Wilson County
c. Referral to special clinics
H. Pretest Security
1. Lebanon Special School District has designated a System Testing Coordinator for the TCAP Achievement Test.
2. Each school has one testing coordinator.
3. Prior to each test administration, the System Testing Coordinator and the Building Testing Coordinator will discuss appropriate test administration and security procedures. Each Building Testing Coordinator will then meet with all test administrators and proctors to review testing procedures and security. Each test administrator will be made aware of TCA 49-1-607.
4. Immediately upon receipt of test materials, the testing coordinators will verify that the quantities of materials received by the system and the school correspond with the quantities of materials shipped from State Testing.
5. After verification, the testing coordinators will ensure that all test materials are stored in a locked area which is inaccessible to unauthorized persons until time for distribution.
6. Each Building Test Coordinator will ensure that tests are not reviewed by either students or teachers prior to administration.
7. Testing dates will be provided by the System Testing Coordinator. Each Building Testing Coordinator will develop a school schedule within the announced date.
I. Security During Testing
1. Test booklets shall be distributed to test administrators by the Building Testing Coordinator or by the principal.
2. Test materials shall not be left unattended unless they are secured.
3. The Building Testing Coordinator shall ensure that tests are administered according to the testing schedule and directions provided.
4. Administration materials and test items shall not be copied or reproduced in any manner.
5. During the testing sessions, students shall not be permitted to use notes, reference materials, or any kind of foreign language translation devices.
6. The school shall provide scratch paper for appropriate subtests. Once distributed, the scratch paper will be considered test material and must be collected and returned to the Building Test Coordinator.
7. The room in which the test is administered must be free of reference materials such as maps, instructional posters, or bulletin board materials which contain information likely to aid students on the test.
8. Impartial proctors will be used. They will assist in completing demographics, ensure that each student is on the appropriate page in the test booklet or appropriate section of the answer sheet, monitor during testing, and distribute and collect materials. No proctor will be assigned to a grade with a student family member.
9. Test administrators or proctors will monitor students closely during testing sessions to prevent copying and other forms of cheating.
J. PostTest Security
1. Upon completion of testing each day, the testing coordinator or principal shall employ a secure method whereby all scratch paper, test booklets, and/ or answer sheets are collected and returned immediately to a designated, secured area.
2. All materials will be secured at the end of each testing session after verifying that each student’s testing materials have been collected.
3. If scratch paper is used, it will be destroyed by the testing coordinator or principal.
4. Reports of testing irregularities will be investigated and the findings reported to the State Department of Education, Office of Accountability.
5. Verified testing irregularities will be handled in a manner consistent with the state law.
6. Materials will be returned to the central office within two days following the completion of testing at each school.
7. The System Testing Coordinator will review the reports of all irregularities and make the necessary recommendations.
K. Addressing a Security Breech
1. In classes, grades, and/ or schools where a security breech is strongly suspected or verified, central office staff will be present during subsequent administrations for a period of two years.
2. A breech of security will be reported immediately to the Office of Accountability.
3. Testing coordinators, test administrators, and proctors will be required to sign a statement that the security measures and testing procedures were followed.
L. Objections to Instructional Materials and Textbooks
The Lebanon Special School District Board of Education recognizes the right of citizens to offer suggestions, criticisms, and complaints concerning the use of instructional material in the school system.
Instructional materials will include print and non-print materials, and other learning resources. When the suitability of particular books or other instructional materials is questioned, the following procedures will be used:
1. For the Teacher and/ or Library Media Specialist
a. Listen courteously to the complaint.
b. Explain the rationale for the use of the material.
c. Refer the complaint to the principal if the attempt to explain is unsuccessful.
2. For the Principal
a. Listen courteously to the complaint.
b. Explain the rationale for the use of the material.
c. If the issue is not resolved, inform the complainant that formal objections to the material may be filed with the office of the director using the form provided.
d. Explain to the complainant the procedure for filing and processing the form CITIZENS REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS (forms are available from the school media center and from the instructional materials center at the central office).
e. Determine whether the materials may be sufficiently in question to immediately withdraw from use pending review.
Procedure for Filing and Processing the Form Citizens Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials
1. The complainant will file the complaint form with the office of the director (forms are available from school media centers and from the school system instructional materials center).
2. The materials in questions will be reviewed by a media review committee appointed by the director and compose of the following: (if the objection is to material in general use throughout the school system, such as textbooks, the composition of the review committee will be modified as appropriate.)
a. Instructional Materials Supervisor, Chairperson – responsible for record-keeping
b. Principal of the school involved
c. School library media specialist
d. Supervisor representing the organizational level of the school involved
e. Teacher representing the school and subject area involved
f. Lay person (PTO officer from the school where complaint originated)
g. Secondary level – student appointed by the principal; Elementary level – teacher or lay person appointed by the principal
3. As soon as possible after being appointed, the committee will consider the material with specific objections in mind. A report will be filed with the director describing the review process and stating the recommendations of the committee.
4. If the matter was not resolved through the review committee process, the director will submit the report to the Board of Education for final action. The Board of Education will report its decision to the complainant and to each school in the system.
5. The review of questioned materials shall be treated objectively as an important matter. Invitation shall be extended to those persons or groups filing complaints to meet with the committee at a specified date, time, and place to present their opinions. The school librarian, teacher, or any other person involved in the selection of the questioned material shall have the same opportunity. The best interests of the students, the school, and the community shall be of paramount consideration.
6. Any material that has been through the review process within the past three years will not be reconsidered. The earlier committee action will stand.
7. Instruction to the Media Review Committee
Base decisions on the principle of freedom to learn rather than on the defense of specific items of instructional material. Freedom of inquiry is vital to education in a democratic society.
Study thoroughly all materials referred to you and read available reviews. General acceptance of the material should be checked by consulting standard evaluation aids and the collections of other schools.
Passages should not be taken out of context. The values and faults should be weighed against each other with the decision based on the material as a whole.
The committee report should contain both majority and minority opinions as appropriate to the particular review.