On behalf of Superintendent Steven L. Walts, Prince William County Public Schools, the following comment is being provided in response to the State Board regarding "sensitive" and "controversial" instructional materials.

Prince William County Public Schools believes the proposed regulation concerning controversial issues is unnecessary for the following reasons:

• PWCS has already established regulations that provide guidance concerning (1) the teaching of controversial issues as well as (2) the use of controversial instructional materials. These regulations have provided all of the necessary guidance we have needed in recent memory to address issues raised by concerned citizens.

• State level implementation may have the unintended consequence of additional costs or unnecessary reporting expectations on our locality.

• We believe this type of regulation is best dealt with at the local school board level where community standards and local cultural issues are best understood by our locally elected officials and community leaders in our diverse community.