Hi all,
As a school librarian and a school board member, I am in a unique position when dealing with book challenges. Ensuring a district has good policies and regulations related to challenged materials is extremely important. The policies and regulations are what districts must follow when faced with challenged materials. If the policy is weak and steps for handling a challenge are not clearly defined, it leads to more likelihood of the challenge succeeding. Therefore, an excellent strong policy and regulation are a must.  
I have written the policies & regulations added to this wakelet (Elissa Malespina) with the help of ALA, the Brevard County School District in FL, and members of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians. The South Orange Maplewood School District members also contributed to these documents. 
Policies that need to be reviewed: (Different States have different numbers for policies. The ones I am talking about are for NJ policies)
2530 -  Resource Materials - you want to make sure this policy includes information on allowing for diverse resources and that the resources are various by not only religious and ethic and culture groups, but also diversity of gender, gender identity, and sexual orientations. 
9130 - Public Complaints - you need to clearly define who can make a challenge. You also need to state that the book/material will not be removed while a challenge is taking place. You want to spell out precisely what they will need to prove is wrong with the material and that each book will have a separate review
9130 - Regulations -  the BOE does not write regulations; it is left up to the administration to develop regulations after a policy is passed. The regulations I have included are based on best practices. Having clearly defined regulations related to challenged materials are critical—the more detailed, the better. 
Request for Reconsideration of Materials Form - this is what you have people fill out when they are filling a request to challenge a book. Make sure it is detailed and ask them to spell out how the materials do not meet what is in the resource material policy, state curriculum, etc. 
If you have any questions or need help - my email is emalespina@gmail.com
Elissa Malespina
*The views expressed here are my own and not those of the SOMSD BOE

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