List of books prohibited under Senate File 496 (Clear Creek Amana Community School District)
| Multi Request | List of books prohibited under Senate File 496 |
| Submitted | Aug. 6, 2023 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Ben Welsh
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Iowa Open Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
An electronic list of all books prohibited from your school district's libraries, classrooms and other distribution systems since the passage of Senate File 496, a new state law that the Des Moines Register says "requires teachers and administrators to review their libraries and classrooms for books that depict sex acts."
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Ben Welsh
From: Clear Creek Amana Community School District
The district response to open records requests for Senate 496 is included
below per Dr. Corey Seymour, Superintendent:
Questions:
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How are your schools planning to implement this law?
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Have you begun creating a list of books to be removed?
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If so, what are some examples of books/content you are removing?
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Do you have any concerns on how to interpret the legislation?
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What is the timeline for your district to release a list of books?
Our administrative team is developing a process to assist teachers and
librarians with identifying books that may need to be reviewed or removed
based on the law. This process will include having teachers and librarians
identify materials that might require review to ensure alignment with the
law. Currently, the district does not intend to distribute a list of
impermissible books while it works through this process. Rather, Clear
Creek Amana will review all books and other educational materials against
state law to ensure compliance. Teachers' first official day of work begins
August 14, so while we are working now to develop and apply this process,
more work is expected to occur when our staff returns for the 2023-2024
school year. Given the volume of books and other materials in our
district, we anticipate this comprehensive review will require several
weeks of work.
One of our primary concerns right now is how the legislative changes apply
to dual-enrollment and concurrent-enrollment courses. While these courses
are college-level courses overseen by Kirkwood Community College, our
students earn high school credit for them, and they are a part of Clear
Creek Amana’s educational program. The law provides that the district’s
“educational program” must be age-appropriate, as well as multicultural and
gender-fair; the district’s current understanding is that this requirement
applies to all parts of its educational program, including dual-enrollment
and concurrent-enrollment courses. CCACSD Schools eagerly awaits
clarification from the state to comply with the law without impeding
students’ ability to engage in challenging coursework and earn college
credits while in high school.
Thank you for your request.
Lori Robertson Chief Financial & Operations Officer/Board Secretary 1486
Highway 6 NW | Oxford, IA 52322 P: 319-828-4510 | F: 319-828-4743
www.ccaschools.org
Files
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