Textbook Selection

School districts are required to provide textbooks and other instructional materials to all students without charge. (ORS 337.150) Local school boards, with the assistance of teachers and administrators, adopt textbooks and other instructional materials for classroom use. Some districts involve parents and other citizens in the selection process.

The State Board of Education adopts a list of instructional materials by subject area on a seven-year cycle. The state-adopted list does not limit district options. With local school board approval, districts may use textbooks and other instructional materials not adopted by the state, provided the alternate materials meet guidelines and criteria established by the State Board of Education and the district notifies the state Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Complaints – School boards, through board policy, provide a procedure for review of any instructional materials local citizens may find objectionable. The procedure varies from district to district, but generally calls for a committee review of the material in question with a recommendation to the school board for action, if any.

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