July 5, 2011
Virginia's Department of Education is proposing guidelines for local school divisions to use in reviewing textbooks that aren't authorized by the state.
The guidelines are similar to the state's revised textbook-review procedures, which the state Board of Education recently approved. The board is accepting public comment on the proposed guidelines until Aug. 1.
State law allows school districts to choose their own textbooks. They might want to use new editions that have yet to be approved by the state or offer programs, such as Advanced Placement or elective courses, that don't have state-approved textbooks.
The state revised its review process after two fourth- and fifth-grade history textbooks were discovered last year to have significant errors. The books by Five Ponds Press were subsequently removed from the state's approved-textbook list.
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