6161

Instruction

Textbook Selection and Adoption

It is the policy of the Board of Education to provide instructional materials that support and enrich the curriculum and further the achievement of the school system’s instructional goals.  Section 10-229 of the General Statutes of Connecticut states: No Board of Education shall change any textbooks used in the public schools except by a two-thirds vote of members of the Board, notice of such change having been previously given at a meeting of such Board held at least one week previous to the vote upon such change.

The selection of textbooks will be carried on continuously in order to keep up with the great expansion of knowledge and the rapid changes going on in our world today.  Textbooks are defined as that resource which provides 50% or more of the information upon which the program of instruction is based.

Where applicable, all textbooks should present balanced views concerning the international, national, and local issues and problems of the past, present and future.  Textbooks should:

1.  Provide materials to stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation,  aesthetic and ethical values.

2.  Provide materials that will help students develop abilities in critical reading and  thinking.

3.  Provide materials that will develop and foster an appreciation of cultural diversity and development in the United States and throughout the world.

4.  Provide for all students an effective education that, in compliance with the Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability.

5.  Allow sufficient flexibility for meeting the special needs of individual students and groups of student.

The administration will develop and review administrative rules outlining a procedure to select textbooks which meet the above criteria. This procedure shall include analysis, evaluation, and recommendation by professional staff. The Superintendent or his/her designee will make the textbooks recommendation to the Board.

Overview

In accordance with Board policy, 6161(a) Textbook Selection and Adoption, the selection of textbooks will be carried on continuously in order to keep up with the great expansion of knowledge and rapid changes going on in our world today. Textbooks are defined as that resource which provides 50% or more of the information upon which the program of instruction is based.

Textbook adoption is the change process from one textbook to another. A textbook should be viewed as a tool for effective teaching. Just as a surgeon must select the very best tools for each operation, school administration must ensure that the best tools are selected and well utilized by teachers. The textbook should not be the curriculum. There is no such thing as a perfect textbook. It is the teacher, who must constantly use and modify instructional materials on a daily basis, who ensures that final student outcomes are met.

It is, therefore, not the textbook that is critical in the textbook adoption process, but how that textbook is selected and used. Consequently, it is important that a framework or structure is provided that does not dictate or mandate specific decisions nor state specifically how decisions will be made, but one that allows qualified staff to select textbooks and to meet certain educational and district requirements. This framework must allow for flexibility yet unsure that good decisions be made.

Basic components of textbook adoption process

An effective process will have the following components:

  Require a level of expertise/training for those responsible for making a decision;

  Request that certain procedures be included in the process before coming to a decision;

  Request proof that specified criteria has been met.

Expertise/Training

  Any person serving on a textbook adoption should have expertise in the subject of adoption;

  Any person serving on a textbook selection committee should have training in how to evaluate textbooks;

  Any person involved in the textbook selection process should have current knowledge of and/or exposure pertaining to the last five years of research in the subject of adoption;

  Any person involved with the use of the basic textbook program should be provided with specific training on how to use it.

Procedures

  Textbook adoption committees will be formed as part of school improvement or district curriculum development plans. (See tasks framework)

  Each textbook adoption committee should identify specific goals and/or major objectives that the new program is expected to achieve and provide a plan for how these will be identified and evaluated in the competing materials. (See plan framework)

  The textbook adoption committee should submit a plan for how the newly purchased program will be implemented, and monitored and evaluated.

  The textbooks adoption committee should make sure that approved textbooks are developmentally appropriate, durable and cost effective.

Proof of Performance

  The textbook adoption committee will show evidence that any textbook program submitted has met criteria for selection before full district adoption.

Legal Reference:  Connecticut General Statutes

10-18a Contents of textbooks and other general instructional materials

10-221 Boards of education to prescribe rules.

10-228 Free textbooks, supplies, materials and equipment.

10-229 Change of textbooks.

Policy adopted:  May 2, 2002

Policy revised:  January 5, 2006