Pasco County Schools

Instructional Materials Overview

The selection of core instructional materials is governed by School Board Policy 2520. The policy provides a guide for the selection, adoption, purchase, and procedures for parents/guardians/or residents to challenge adoption and/or existing materials.

In accordance with current legislation in HB 1467 -Public Participation in the Instructional Materials Review Process, requires that each district school board that holds meetings of committees convened for the purpose of selecting instructional materials for recommendation to the district school board must be noticed and open to the public, and must include parents of district students. Click here for Parental Rights Webpage for Florida Department of Education. Additionally, the bill modifies the requirement that each school district publish on its website a list of all instructional materials to include those used for specified required instruction. In the sections below, each of the requirements in the bill are detailed.

Current Instructional Materials

The Core Instructional Resources for the 2024-2025 school year are aligned to:

B.E.S.T. Standards- English Language Arts
B.E.S.T. Standards- Mathematics
Florida's State Academic Standards for Science
Florida's State Academic Standards for Social Studies

For additional information on Florida State Standards visit, CPALMS.

The following intervention resources are used for students who need additional academic support.

Intervention Instructional Resources

Library Media Centers

In Pasco County Schools we believe that literacy is the key to unlock the big hopes and dreams of our students. School library media centers and classroom libraries play a critical role in supporting the mission and vision of Pasco County Schools. It is our aim to provide libraries that include materials that build knowledge, support state standards, are age/grade appropriate and engaging and relevant to students.

Click here to find materials located in your school's library media center collection. (MIND)

Although materials are carefully selected there can arise differences of opinion regarding suitable materials. Custodial parents and legal guardians may request restricted access to library media center materials for their student by completing the annual consent form located in myStudent and provided each year at registration. This form can be updated anytime throughout the school year.

Annual Instructional Materials Adoption Process

Pasco Schools is currently in a K-12 Science adoption cycle click here for detailed information.

The cycle for the adoption of instructional materials by content is published by the FLDOE and is governed by state statute. Additional detailed information can be found on the FLDOE Instructional Materials Website.

Instructional Materials and Library Media Challenge Process

Step 1: School Based Conference

Parents/Guardians or residents with objections to existing instructional materials will work directly with the teacher and school administration to discuss their concerns. A resident of the county who is not the parent or guardian of a student with access to School District materials may not object to more than one (1) material per month in accordance with State Board rules.

To facilitate a successful resolution, the parent/resident should provide the school with the following information:

Name of Teacher
Name of Course
Date range of content assignment
Copy of assignment if available
Details of the concern

Once the above information has been collected by a school representative, the building administration will respond within 48 hours. This time will allow for the administration to research the inquiry and schedule a conference to address the concern.

The principal or designee will then have an opportunity to explain the reason(s) for the use of the material and to answer questions the parent or resident has about the selection.

In the event that the complainant is not satisfied with the school-based conference and proposed resolution, please move to step 2.

Step 2: District Materials Review Committee

In the event that the complainant is not satisfied with the school-based conference and proposed resolution, the following steps shall be taken.

The complainant shall fill out the form titled Request for Review of Instructional Materials or Library Media Materials available on the district website, and complete the form in its entirety including a signature. The form will be sent to Director for the Office for Leading and Learning, the instructional materials challenge committee, and the appropriate area superintendent.
The completed form and the material(s) in question shall be studied by a materials review committee appointed on an ad hoc basis by the Office for Leading and Learning. The committee shall consist of two (2) administrators from similar schools; two (2) teachers in the appropriate subject area/grade; one (1) teacher from another subject area/grade; an instructional coach; a school counselor; one (1) student from the appropriate grade level or who is accomplished in the specific subject area (senior high school only); one (1) lay person from School Advisory Council; and two (2) representatives designated by the Director, Office for Leading and Learning.
The committee shall meet within thirty (30) school work days of receipt by the principal of the Objection of an Individual Assignment or Existing Instructional Materials form.
The committee will solicit professional written reviews of the materials and/or comments from appropriate audiences or resource persons.
The committee shall read/view the material in its entirety, consider the reviews of the material, study the comments on the complainant’s Objection of an Individual Assignment or Existing Instructional Materials form, and consider one (1) or more of the evaluative criteria and render a recommendation based on a majority vote.
Within five (5) school days of its final meeting, the committee shall prepare a written recommendation for the Principal. The committee’s final recommendation may be any or a combination of the following: (1) allow the challenged material to maintain its current status; (2) limit the educational use of the challenged material.
Within ten (10) school days after receipt of the committee recommendation, the principal shall inform the complainant of the decision of the committee.
Access to challenged materials shall not be restricted during the request for the review process unless the parent requests alternative materials for their child.

Step 3: Superintendent Level Appeal

If the complainant is not satisfied with the result of the outcome of the objection from the District Materials Review Committee, they may appeal the decision of the committee to the Superintendent in writing. The matter will be referred for a hearing before an unbiased and qualified hearing officer as outlined in School Board Policy 2522.

Library Media Center Books with Objections

Materials Review Committee Meetings

In the event that the District Materials Review Committee is convened for the purpose of responding to a request for review for specific instructional materials not subject to adoption, this section will be contain the publicly noticed meeting information pursuant to Florida Statute 1006.28 [2](a)2 and 1014.05 [1](c).

Click here to view recordings of the Library Media Challenge Committee meetings

Click here to access the documents provided to members of the review team