2. After completing the approval process two
occurrences can happen:
1. The work will be approved to use in the
classroom. -Good for you! What
happens if you still receive a parent
complaint?
2. The work will be denied for use. – Time
to get to work!
3. When including controversial works in the classroom, even if
administrators approve the text, often times parents may still complain.
If this situation occurs these steps may be taken to satisfy the parent:
Have a face to face meeting with the parent. Hear their concerns
with no judgment. Ask your department chair to sit in, if you feel
uncomfortable meeting with them alone.
Explain the process that goes into book selection. Share with them
the mission statement of the book created by a team. Show them
you have a deep understanding of the novel, and the concepts you
will teach their child with it.
If the parent still disagrees with the text selection after the meeting,
have them submit their complaint in writing.
Take the written complaint to the book selection committee and
administration.
As a team, evaluate the complaint, and share with the parent the
committees findings.
If an agreement cannot be obtained, offer an alternative text for their
child.
4. If the administrative team denies your initial request,
there are steps you can take in order to gain approval.
1. Provide a list of positive, professional reviews of the
book for the administrators to read over. Try to find
samples from teachers discussing their classroom
experience.
2. Align the literature to the TEKS being taught. Show
specific examples where the TEKS are covered in the
text.
3. Get parent permission. Send home permission slips to
every parent in your room. (You should tell
administration about your efforts, prior to sending the
5. 4. Talk to other schools or curriculum coordinators in
your district. See if they have used the literature in
question, or have suggestions for an alternative text.
5. Research any legal precedence that supports the use
of the book in a public classroom.
6. Request a meeting with your administrative team and
present your research in a professional manner.
Present your case respectfully and honor their final
decision. Never use a work of art that has not been
approved, not matter how important it is to you
personally.
6. Now that you have an understanding of how to gain approval for
a work following an initial denial of use, let’s practice this
scenario with a partner.
You would like to use “The Things They Carried” by Tim
O’Brian in your classroom to teach sensory language, culture
and history, but your principal has denied your initial case.
As a team, build a case to support using this text in your
classroom.
Once you have done your research, preform a role play where
one partner is the principal and the other is the teacher. On
videotape debate with each other on the merits of the text,
and ultimately reveal if the text can be used in the classroom
based on your case. Once your skit has been filmed, please
e-mail the video to the instructor.
You will have access to all videos through 30 hands, for your
reference at a later time.
Have fun!
7. Now let’s test our
learning. Please
access
http://getkahoot.com/
from your electronic
device. Hopefully, you
are still logged in to the
program, but if not sign
in with game pin
number 313005.
We will answer
questions 7-10
together.
Thank you so much for
attending our training
on Classroom
Censorship. Please
answer the survey
being e-mailed to you
by your instructor. If
you have any additional
questions, please see
your department chair.
Happy reading!
