| V.C.U.S.D. School Board |
. Instruction: Supplementary Instructional Materials |
| The Board encourages teachers to use supplementary materials which are relevant to curriculum objectives and appropriate students' ages and abilities. By using such materials, teachers can introduce content and instructional strategies that enrich the curriculum, enhance learning, help students make critical judgments, and stimulate their intellectual growth. When selecting supplementary materials for classroom use (including videos, films or movies), teachers should carefully preview them and they should provide appropriate introductory and follow-up activities when using them with the students. Specifically, videos, films, and movies shown to students must be directly relevant to the curriculum being studied and appropriate for the age and maturity of the students being taught, and not contain inappropriate profanity, nudity, drug use, sexual conduct, or harsh language. The Board is realistic in that it does not have the time or resources to review each movie. Accordingly, having reviewed the rating system of the Motion Picture Association of America, the criteria used and the procedures adopted, the Board finds that the criteria used and the judgment employed by the Motion Picture Association regarding the contents of a film's level of violence, offensive or raw language, nudity, sex, drug abuse and other elements for the purpose of establishing a rating to inform the public as to the contents of a film is applicable towards determining the use of films in the educational setting of a school district. The Board finds that the criteria resulting in a rating of "R". "NC-17", or "X" provides a reasonable basis for concluding that the film contains material which is obscene, vulgar, profane, does not reflect the community standards and/or is not related to legitimate curricular objectives, and therefore is appropriately excluded. The Board further finds that the criteria resulting in PG and PG13 rating regarding the level of profanity, violence and nudity support the guidelines listed below.
1. Videos, films, and movies owned by the Vallejo City Unified School or by the Solano County Office of Education can be shown to students at the appropriate level, as indicated in the respective media catalogs.
2. Videos, films and movies not owned by the district or county office may be shown if they are rated as follows: Elementary : "G" rated Junior High [7-9]: "G" or "PG" Rated Senior High School: "G", "PG" and "PG13" Rated.
3. Unrated materials shall be evaluated on the same general standards that are used by the motion picture industry. If there is a question as to the appropriateness of the material, it must be submitted to the principal for approval. 4. Videotapes, films, and movies with ratings other than these may only be shown with the prior approval of the principal, after consultation with the appropriate Director of Elementary or Secondary Support, and the written approval of parents/guardians. The teachers shall notify parents/guardians in writing that a film will be shown and shall explain the direct relevance of the film to the curriculum being studied. Students who do not receive written parental permission to view the film shall be excused to an alternative educational assignment. The above guidelines governing the use of video, films, and movies as supplementary instructional materials shall apply to outside instructional time during extra curricular activities, such as film clubs, voluntary assemblies, etc. If a person wishes to appeal the decision of the principal, he/she must use the process outlined in BP 1312.2: Complaints Covering Instructional Materials. Staff must adhere to the Copyright Act which allows the showing of a motion picture, videotape, and so forth without an educational performance license if the following conditions are met: (1) use takes place during classroom instruction; (2) programs are shown as part of the instructional program, not for recreation or extracurricular activity, and (3) materials are used for face-to-face instruction.
(cf.6162.6 -use of Copyrighted Materials) Legal Reference:
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