At the regular monthly meeting of the Curriculum Advisory Committee for Lee County Public Schools Monday night, the Media Center Access Form was on the agenda ... again.
The form was on last month’s agenda too, but that meeting descended into such chaos that the meeting and the vote were canceled midway through.
At the latest meeting, the School Board attorneys and parliamentarian were in attendance to keep the discussion civilized and following protocol. There was also security in the room and a Lee County sheriff’s deputy outside. The meeting did stay calm.
Eight citizens expressed public comment, some wanting further restriction of materials in school and some wanting students to have access to all appropriate materials.
The Media Access Form was introduced in the fall of 2023. Parents could fill it out to communicate their preference for their child’s ability to check materials out of the school media center. The choices were:
1. That the child has full access, except for books that have been restricted (that no one can check out)
2. that the child is not permitted to check out any books, or
3. That the child can’t check out any books that have been formally challenged, regardless of outcome.
The director of secondary curriculum for high schools, Candance Allevato, presented data that showed that the overwhelming majority of parents who completed the form wanted their children to have the widest access.
“69.78 percent selected that full access. Less than 1% selected no access, and 2.88 percent selected access with the exception of no challenged materials,” Allevato said.
If parents did not fill out the form, the third choice was the default.
In the end, the committee voted to change the default choice. If parents don’t fill out the form, the child will have the widest access to materials.
Parents are permitted at any time to request that their child not check out a certain book. The Lee County School Board will make the decision in the end, as the curriculum advisory committee simply makes recommendations to the Board.
There are 48 challenged books in the Lee County School District.
The committee will meet again when the new school year begins in the fall.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
Copyright 2024 WGCU
