TEMECULA -- High school teachers have long walked the line between challenging their students to become independent, critical thinkers and respecting their parents' beliefs on what are acceptable topics for teenagers.

That invisible line is especially evident in reading assignments, in which subjectivity is inherent.

With historic, and sometimes local, controversies arising from classics such as J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," it's not surprising that some disagreements have also been generated by lesser known and lesser heralded works of literacy assigned to Temecula students in the last few years.

Three such edgy reading assignments proffered by Temecula Valley Unified School District teachers illustrate how some parents and trustees believe classwork can go too far.

Most recently, parent Rick Reiss said he became upset and frustrated when he discovered his daughter, a 15-year-old sophomore attending Temecula Valley High School, was given an essay assignment on prison reform during Thanksgiving break.

What frustrated him was not necessarily the topic of the essay, he said, but the backup reading sources distributed by her English teacher to aid in the essay's research, a long list of Internet sites that Reiss contends was not only one-sided, but included an article discussing inmate sodomy.

"I am not a Bible thumper, but before my kids are exposed to subjects like prison sodomy, I think I should have some say," he said. "My other concern was the materials he provided -- that prisons are crime factories and officers are brutal and corrupt. I never saw anything in his handouts that gives the other side, that shows why it's important to have jails in our society."

Admittedly, Reiss said he has a bias too; he has worked in prisons since 1989. He questioned who has oversight of such reading material, and who is keeping an eye on the teachers.

Ultimately, at a meeting with the teacher and a school administrator in early December, Reiss said it was agreed that in the future the article mentioning sodomy would be scrapped, and others offering a law-and-order perspective would be added to the handout of Internet research articles.

While basic textbooks and other instructional materials must be approved by trustees, unapproved resources can be used by individual teachers, depending on the needs and interests of their students, district spokeswoman Melanie Norton said.

In other words, teachers do have the discretion to use what they want in class.

That falls in line with what the state education code allows, too.

The California Department of Education's "Standards for Evaluating Instructional Materials for Social Content" states that teachers must make qualitative judgments on classical or contemporary literature when choosing their reading assignments.

While the regulations call for materials to "accurately and equitably" portray the cultural and racial diversity of American society; the male and female roles; and the contributions of minority groups and males and females to the development of California and the United States, "complete compliance with the guidelines may be inappropriate in some cases."

"Day-to-day instruction is the responsibly of the local school district," said Tom Adams, the department of education's director of curriculum frameworks and instructional resources.

The department often fields complaints from parents concerned over what their child read or was assigned, but most of those calls are directed back to the respective local school board, he said.

"We encourage a dialogue at the local level," he said.

Temecula school district administrators ask teachers to share any unapproved secondary materials they use in the classroom with their department heads and principals. As much as possible, those materials are then shared with district officials and the governing board, Norton said.

Oversight can also go the other way.

Trustees have been known to step in if they find something offensive, as was the case recently when the book, "Baal, A Man's Man, The Elephant Calf: Early Plays by Bertolt Brecht" was presented for approval in September for an advanced drama class at Great Oak High School.

One of the plays, "Baal," deals with, among other topics, paganism, homosexuality and a stance against conformity, according to the book's prologue. An Internet description of the book described it as providing insight into Brecht's dramatic techniques prior to his "decisive embrace of Marxism."

The book was pulled from the agenda and never voted on, and teachers even agreed it was a poor choice upon further review, according to district officials.

Such safety nets are not always in place.

The district is now defending itself against a sexual harassment lawsuit filed after a former Great Oak High School teacher asked students to read out loud in class a book by comedian George Carlin. The book had sexually explicit content and derogatory phrases about women, among other contentions.

One of the students asked to read the book aloud, and her parents, filed the lawsuit.

In legal documents, the teacher said the assignment was part of an attempt to teach students about "ethos," defined as the characteristic and distinguishing attitudes of a person or group.

The teacher was disciplined for the assignment, Norton said.

That lawsuit continues to wind its way through the legal system.

Peter Eliasberg, managing attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said teachers today are wary of what they provide as reading assignments for fear it might upset the sensibilities of their students' parents.

While parental objections can have merit, the concerns often stem from them simply not wanting their children exposed to viewpoints other than the ones promulgated in the home, he said.

"I think there is no question that most certainly everybody but the strongest-willed teacher does say to himself or herself, 'I may want to teach this,' but may back away because of concerns," Eliasberg said. "Teachers have a hard job."

He said that as long as educators can defend their decisions with integrity and logic, and a basis in academics, they should be fine.

Such is the case for Chaparral High School English teacher Scott Carey, who said he continues to get a few complaints from parents when he assigns the classic American novel, "The Catcher in the Rye," which includes profanity, discusses sexuality and teenage angst.

According to the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, it was the 13th most frequently challenged book of the 1990s. Others on the list includes "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain and "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck.

More recently published books on the list includes "Heather Has Two Mommies" by Leslea Newman and the "Harry Potter" books by J.K. Rowling.

Carey said he offers an alternative assignment for "The Catcher in the Rye" for students or parents who might be offended.

"Some people are upset, and I think they have every right to be," he said. "But if you are going to judge a book by one phrase, that's pretty shortsighted."

Contact staff writer Jennifer Kabbany at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2625, or jkabbany@californian.com.