Park County School District Six in Cody, Wyoming is currently revising its policy on adopting curriculum materials. The decision follows several months of controversy over a recommendation by teachers to adopt the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt reading curriculum “Journeys” for K-5.

The school board received more than 40 complaints from parents and community members in this small town, and one school board trustee resigned rather than vote on the proposed curriculum. Complaints alleged that the reading resources showed a “liberal bias” with regard to climate change and what was characterized as “an overemphasis on the accomplishments of non-white Americans.”

Teachers defended the curriculum, saying that it wasn’t necessary to “involve this huge political diatribe from so many different constituents” in the curriculum adoption process. School board policy would have forced the formation of a ‘challenge committee’ to review the curriculum committee’s recommendations. However, the group of teachers who comprise the curriculum committee withdrew their recommendation of the HMH reading program to allow for the school board to re-examine and revise the curriculum adoption process.

There was no indication given regarding a time frame for revisions to the process to be made.