{"id":354830,"date":"2016-04-04T11:01:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T16:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/education\/curriculum-standards-school-funding\/curriculum-decisionmaking.html"},"modified":"2016-06-20T20:22:04","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T01:22:04","slug":"curriculum-decisionmaking","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/education\/curriculum-standards-school-funding\/curriculum-decisionmaking.html","title":{"rendered":"Curriculum Decisionmaking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Curriculum Decisionmaking<\/h1>\n
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Local education authorities, such as school administrators or boards of education, must balance many different competing interests when designing a curriculum<\/a>. Each school district likely has its own process for making curriculum decisions. However, each school district must wrestle with the same concerns:<\/p>\n

Requirements for a Good Curriculum<\/h2>\n

Most people agree that students in public schools should learn the basics of reading, writing, mathematics, history, science, and citizenship. Very few people agree on anything else regarding school curricula. In general, school boards must design a curriculum that furthers "legitimate pedagogical concerns<\/a>." However, the phrase "legitimate pedagogical concerns" is not defined by any court or federal statutes. Some state governments have defined "legitimate pedagogical concerns," but school boards are frequently left to their own devices when creating a curriculum.<\/p>\n

School boards often turn to state and federal governments for guidance on what to teach and how to teach it. The federal government has the means to research which skills will be most useful to students after school, as well as which teaching techniques are most effective. State governments have insight into the kinds of skills that are useful to the local economy, and can often recommend specific classroom materials.<\/p>\n

An important consideration is the age, maturity, and sophistication of the students to which educational material is to be provided. A school’s oversight or authority over curriculum matters is greater where younger students are involved.<\/p>\n

What to Leave Out of a Good Curriculum<\/h2>\n

"Legitimate pedagogical concerns" may not be well defined, but some courts have reached a consensus on material that does not advance these concerns. This kind of material can include:<\/p>\n