GILROY
– Students will no longer watch movies in class, unless their
parents approved the films ahead of time, and the public will now
be given a chance to view all books and materials under
consideration for adoption before they are approved by the
board.
GILROY – Students will no longer watch movies in class, unless their parents approved the films ahead of time, and the public will now be given a chance to view all books and materials under consideration for adoption before they are approved by the board.
After scrutinizing board policy, high school curriculum and instructional materials for more than a year, parents now have more say in decisions that affect their children.
Several policies now specify parental approval as a necessary step to changing curriculum. The policy for materials complaints states that the board “recognizes the rights of parents/guardians in influencing their children’s education.”
Many of the board policies, or the procedures to enforce them, were revised to reflect a more bottom-up approach to resolving conflicts over curriculum or materials, starting with the teacher, moving to the administration and finally to the district office. School board trustees finalized changes to nine board policies – some of which are decades old – tightening standards around teaching and materials used in the classroom.
The update took several months to complete and included mostly subtle changes, but many of the revisions focused on implementing more stringent policies at the high school.
For example, the Gilroy Unified School District Board of Trustees will annually approve a list of films and videos that may be used in classrooms. Teachers will be required at the beginning of the year to provide parents with a list of the films they plan to show in class.
The district is coming up with a procedure to use when parents disapprove of a movie.
Films – whether related to the subject being discussed or not – were on the mind of more than one parent who told the board that their son or daughter watched a movie that both parent and child thought was inappropriate. Some examples of movies shown in class without prior notice include Disney cartoons “Gallipoli” and “Real Women Have Curves,” parents said during several school board meetings.
“This whole issue of films has been coming up more than I’m comfortable with,” Superintendent Edwin Diaz said.
Assistant Superintendent Jacki Horejs told the board that more often than not a portion of a movie will suffice to supplement a lesson, so entire movies don’t need to be shown.
Trustees also approved an addition to the supplementary materials policy reiterating that films will relate to the courses in which they are used and be appropriate for that grade level.
“We’ve been hearing too many cases of inappropriate material being shown in the classroom, and I think we need to put an end to that,” Trustee Tom Bundros said.
In fact, a list of all supplementary instructional materials used in all subjects will be both approved by school administrators and provided to parents. Some trustees thought that would preclude teachers from using supplementary materials related to current events. Teachers may use those tools if they preview them first to ensure they relate to the course and state standards.
Trustee Tom Bundros suggested stiffening the board policy relating to homework by adding a requirement that teachers make sure written assignments are checked.
“If an assignment is given to a student and it’s worth the student’s time, then it needs to be checked,” he said. “My intent here is that the student, being a student, needs that feedback.”
Trustee David McRae agreed, saying that if work is not being checked or graded, it should not be assigned.
Horejs likened some homework assignments to practicing a performing art, to which Trustee John Gurich agreed.
“It’s still worth the practice, with occasional feedback,” Diaz said.
The board policy concerning controversial issues, another flashpoint for parents, was revised to echo the sentiment that teachers remove their opinions from discussions. In addition to conducting discussions “in a spirit of honest inquiry,” teachers will guide discussions “in a neutral manner,” the policy states.
Parent Mark Zappa asked the board to also consider the administrative procedures designed to enforce the policy. It stated that teachers may present their opinions, as long as they do not persuade students.
Given that wording, Zappa said, a teacher could say that “George Bush is a war-mongerer – in my opinion,” or “Abortion is murder – in my opinion.”
“A good teacher would remain neutral as to their beliefs, understanding the influence they have in the classroom,” Zappa said.
District officials said they would change the procedures to reflect the board policy.
“It appears that that provision is actually in conflict with the spirit of the board policy … with all the language of the policy, basically,” Diaz said.
While the board does not need to examine the administrative regulations, trustees have said they will, for the more controversial policies. Zappa encouraged the board to do so.
“I know that, on the items that I was concerned about, a lot of time the devil is in the details and there were several things in the administrative regulations that back up the board policy that may have been, you know, just honest mistakes or omissions, but could make all the difference,” he said.
Trustee Jim Rogers said that, although many of the changes were subtle, spending nearly three months on the update was valuable for the board.
“It’s too bad it took that long to get them reviewed, but it is better to review them and get them up to date. I think if there’s anything, we can say that we brought them into the 21st century,” he said. “We’re looking at it as taking a few at a time is a good way to go.”
