Campbell County Schools: parent notice and book review explained

A classroom alternative concerns the student's assignment

Campbell County Public Schools has two distinct routes for concerns about reading materials: requesting an alternative classroom assignment and seeking reconsideration of a library item. Their consequences are different.

CCPS's instructional-material procedure provides 30 days' parent notice before resources containing sexually explicit content are used. A parent seeking alternatives must notify the teacher at least one week before instruction. The replacement is to exclude sexually explicit content and carry no penalty for the student.

The district says alternatives may not be available for AP, Dual Enrollment, or national and state assessments. That qualification makes an early conversation with the teacher particularly useful.

Library availability is different from required classwork

Under Virginia Code §22.1-16.8, a book's presence in the school library does not by itself make it instructional material covered by the notice law. A library item falls within that definition when a teacher specifically assigns it for an assignment or curricular objective.

The statute also says the notice law and policies adopted under it cannot provide a basis for censoring or removing books. An alternative classroom assignment therefore does not settle whether a title should remain available in a school collection.

A library challenge requires a separate decision

The district's library guidance allows parents to decide what their own children may borrow. It also sets out a formal reconsideration process for challenged materials.

Removal of a duly selected item requires a committee recommendation with the superintendent's concurrence, or formal School Board action when a recommendation is appealed. Possible outcomes also include keeping the material, offering an alternative assignment, requiring parental permission or moving it to a higher grade level.

The published procedure shows how a challenge can be decided. It is not evidence that a particular Campbell book has been challenged or removed.

Start with the question you need answered

For an assignment concern, identify the class, material and planned use date when contacting the teacher. For a library concern, ask about your child's access or the district's formal reconsideration procedure, depending on the decision you are seeking.

The Campbell County school board and parental-rights guide provides direct links for instructional lists, parent-portal access, board meetings, member contacts and district records. Its religious-expression section explains the separate Virginia statutes on voluntary student prayer and state guidelines.

Sources and publication date

Published October 17, 2026. This explainer draws on CCPS's posted instructional-material and library procedures and the current Virginia notice statute linked above. Its publication date is not the date of a new School Board vote. This review did not establish a recent Campbell book-removal decision or a new local policy adoption.

Find more reporting at the Campbell County news desk and the county hub. Send documented corrections through Corrections; see our editorial standards.