The Walton-Verona Board of Education approved a policy Thursday that will allow parents to submit complaints about school materials that they consider “harmful” for students.
Dubbed the “Harmful to Minors” Complaint Resolution Process, the policy was approved in response to Kentucky’s Senate Bill 5, or the “parental rights bill,” which was passed earlier this year. The bill requires that education boards throughout the state implement a policy for parents to submit complaints about their school’s curriculum or instruction that they believe is inappropriate for children.
“We actually already had a policy in place – most school districts do,” said board member Aubrey Ryan. “It basically says that if a parent has a complaint, they contact the principal and get the details of the complaint and try to resolve it, and if they’re not happy with that resolution, then they can bring it to us.”
Under the measure, parents that believe they have identified material that is harmful to students will be able to send written complaints directly to the school’s principal.
The principal will have seven business days to investigate the allegations and determine whether the materials in question will be removed from the school.
Within 10 business days, the principal will inform the parent whether or not the material was determined to be “harmful to minors” and what the resolution will be.
Parents that disagree with the principal’s verdict can appeal to the school board for further review, where they will have 30 days to analyze the material and make a vote.
Regardless of the final determination, the school must ensure that the student of the parent who filed the complaint “does not have access to the material.”
According to the policy, instructional material can be deemed as “harmful” if it contains obscene exposure of genitals, buttocks or female breasts; visuals or simulations of sexual acts; written descriptions of sexual acts; appeals to the interest in sex; or “is patently offensive to prevailing standards regarding what is suitable for minors.”
The Kentucky Senate overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 5 on March 29, and it quickly fueled the debate of the role of parents in children’s education.
The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Jason Howell (R-Murray), said that it will allow parents “to have a voice when [instructional materials] are in conflict with their family’s values and beliefs.”
Supporters say that the bill gives parents the ability to ensure that obscene and offensive material is kept out of schools. Opponents, meanwhile, argue that such a bill promotes censorship, and even equate it to a book ban.
“You’ve got to find the balance between doing what the law is in supporting and being there for the kids,” Ryan said.
Additionally, the school board did a first reading of legislation in regard to bathroom usage for transgender students. There will be a second reading of the policy on July 20.
The policy reading is in response to Kentucky’s Senate Bill 150, which includes “restrictions for the use of restrooms, locker rooms, or shower rooms that are reserved for students of a different biological sex.”