Higley Unified School District debates novel, book review process

By Tom Blodgett
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The Higley Unified School District Governing Board renewed its debate about its review process for supplemental materials and novels, amplifying ongoing tensions over book selections and parental rights.

District committees just completed work for this school year and made recommendations for the 2025-26 school year. The materials and novels are now under a 60-day public review before going to the board for approval.

Mary Davis, director of professional development, explained the district follows Arizona state law and district policies to determine which instructional and supplemental materials are approved.

The district has a PreK-12 supplemental materials committee comprised of parents, teachers, community members, and district staff, that evaluates requests for new materials. Each proposed material is reviewed using a rubric that considers educational value, appropriateness and adherence to state standards.

A similar process is used for approving novels for students in grades 6-12.

She said teachers are required to notify parents two weeks in advance when introducing a novel into the classroom, and parents retain the right to opt their children out of reading any assigned book.

However, Van Hoek strongly criticized the committee’s process, arguing  it fails to adequately address parental concerns about explicit content in certain books.

"This law passed in 2022 and the district did not implement this law for two years," she said, adding the district violated parental rights by not providing proper permission slips before distributing some books.

Van Hoek also alleged the novel review committee relies too heavily on the opinions of a few members, leading to a lack of dissenting votes even when books contain sensitive material.

"If those few individuals don't raise concerns about a book, the rest of the committee remains unaware of any issues," she said.

She further criticized the district for continuing to approve books she described as containing explicit themes, questioning why alternative texts were not prioritized to avoid controversy.

Answering a question from Board Member Scott Glover, Davis said parents can indicate if they would like their students to go to an alternate location during classroom discussion of a novel. If they do so,  an alternate lesson is available.

However, Van Hoek and Sara Jarman argued that forcing students to leave the classroom disrupts their education.

"If we have an alternate, why can't we just use the alternate instead of the specific content that still meets the standards, instead of the explicit content, that still meets the standards, that doesn't create controversy or chaos?" Van Hoek asked.

Supporters of the current process defended the inclusion of challenging literature, citing the educational value of discussing complex social issues.

"We routinely hear from the community that we need to prepare our kids for the next steps of life," President Amanda Wade said, emphasizing that books with mature themes can provide important learning opportunities.

Upon a question from Board Member Tiffany Shultz, Davis confirmed the district is going beyond the state law by using the committee to determine what material is acceptable to be included in curriculum.

Davis said the district would update its website with the latest recommendations and provide a feedback form for community input. 

We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).