BUSINESS AND
OPERATIONS: TEXTBOOKS [LAW]
1. Sample Copies
A. Publishers
are required to provide the school with information that fully describes
adopted instructional material.
B. Upon
request by the textbook coordinator of the school, a publisher is required to
provide one complete sample of adopted instructional materials. Samples of learning systems and electronic,
visual, or auditory media may be provided in demonstration or representative
format. Samples of instructional
materials provided to the school shall be labeled, “Sample Copy - Not for
Classroom Use.”
C. No
state or local funds shall be expended to purchase, distribute, or ship sample
materials. Publishers may make
arrangements for the school to retrieve samples after local selections are
completed, but the state does not guarantee return of sample instructional
materials.
2. Textbook Selection
A. Adoption
of Policy
The board
shall adopt a policy for selecting instructional materials. Final selections must be recorded in the
minutes of the board of trustees or governing body.
B. Selection
Procedures
Each
year, during a period established by the State Board of Education (SBOE), the school
board shall:
(1) For
a subject in the foundation curriculum, notify the SBOE of the textbooks
selected by the board from among the textbooks on the appropriate conforming or
nonconforming list; or
(2) For a
subject in the enrichment curriculum:
(a) Notify
the SBOE of each textbook the board has selected for the following school year
from among the textbooks on the appropriate conforming or nonconforming list;
or
(b) Notify
the SBOE that the board has selected a textbook that is not on the conforming
or nonconforming list.
C. Report
to Texas Education Agency (TEA)
A
report listing instructional materials selected for use in an open-enrollment
charter school shall be transmitted to TEA no later than April 1 each year.
D. Board Action
Only
instructional materials ratified by the board shall be furnished by the state
for use in the school.
E. Selections
are Final
Selections
certified to TEA shall be final and, therefore, shall not be subject to
reconsideration during the original contract period or readoption contract
periods covering the instructional materials selected.
F. Ancillary Materials
Selection
and use of ancillary materials provided by publishers is at the discretion of
the board.
3. Funding and Costs
A. State Share
If the
school selects a textbook for a particular subject in the enrichment curriculum
and grade level that is not on the conforming or nonconforming list, the state
shall pay to the school an amount equal to the lesser of:
(1) 70%
of the cost of the textbook, multiplied by the number of books the school needs
for that subject and grade level; or
(2) 70%
of the limitation on cost established by the SBOE for a textbook for that
subject and grade level, multiplied by the number of textbooks the school needs
for that subject and grade level.
B. School
Share
(1) If the school selects a textbook that is
not on the conforming or nonconforming list (non-adopted instructional
materials), the school is responsible for the portion of the cost that is not
paid by the state, as described in subparagraph (3)(A) above.
(2) The
school may use funds received from the state only for purchasing the textbook
for which the funds were received. The school
may use local funds to purchase any other textbooks.
(3) The
minutes of the board meeting at which a selection of non-adopted instructional
materials is ratified shall reflect the agreement of the school to bear
responsibility for the portion of the cost not eligible for payment by the
state.
(4) If
the school selects non-adopted instructional materials for enrichment subjects,
it also bears responsibility for providing Braille and/or large type versions
of the non-adopted instructional materials.
4. Use of Textbooks
For a book that is not on the conforming or
nonconforming list, the school must use the textbook for the period of the
review and adoption cycle that the SBOE has established for the subject and
grade level for which the textbook is used.
5. Ownership
A. Each
textbook (including electronic textbooks to the extent of any applicable
licensing agreement(s)) purchased, as provided in this policy, is the property
of the state.
B. The
school board is the legal custodian of textbooks and shall distribute them to
students in the manner that the board deems most effective or economical.
6. Purchase
A. Requisition
Process
(1) Report
of Maximum Attendance
Not later than the seventh day after the
first school day in April, each principal shall report the maximum attendance
for the school to the School Director. Not
later than April 25, the School Director shall report the school’s maximum
attendance to the commissioner of education.
(2) Requisition
Amount and Deadline
(a) A requisition for textbooks for the
following school year shall be based on the maximum attendance reports, plus an
additional 10%.
(b) The
school shall make a requisition for a textbook on the conforming or
nonconforming list through the commissioner to the state depository designated
by the publisher, or as provided by SBOE rule, as applicable, not later than
June 1 of each year. The designated
state depository or, if the publisher or manufacturer does not have a
designated textbook depository in this state, the publisher or manufacturer,
shall fill a requisition approved by TEA at any other time in the case of an
emergency.
(3) In
making a requisition for textbooks, the school may requisition textbooks on the
conforming or nonconforming list for grades above the grade level in which a
student is enrolled, except that the total quantity of textbooks requisitioned
may not exceed the limit described above.
B. Shortage
of Textbooks
If the school
does not have a sufficient number of copies of a textbook used by the school
for use during the following school year, and a sufficient number of additional
copies will not be available from the depository or the publisher at least 10
business days before the opening day of school of the year for which the
textbooks are ordered, the school is entitled to:
(1) Be
reimbursed from the state textbook fund at a rate not to exceed the actual cost
of the used textbooks, or the state maximum cost, whichever is less, for the
purchase of a sufficient number of used adopted textbooks; or
(2) Return
currently used textbooks to the commissioner in exchange for sufficient copies,
if available, of other textbooks on the conforming or nonconforming lists to be
used during the following school year.
C. Supplemental
Orders
Supplemental orders for textbooks shall
be based on the actual number of students enrolled when the order is submitted.
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D. Surplus
Materials
(1) A school
that orders instructional materials in excess of its eligibility by reporting
enrollments above enrollments described above, at “Requisition amount and
deadline,” enters into a contract with the state to purchase the instructional
materials supplied that exceed the school’s eligibility for the subject
area/grade level.
(2) The school
may cancel the contract to purchase instructional materials supplied in excess
of its eligibility by immediately returning the excess instructional materials
to the State Textbook Depository. If
prior approval is received, excess instructional materials may also be returned
to the publisher’s approved depository.
(3) If the school
retains excess instructional materials for more than six (6) months after the
beginning of the school year, the school is required to reimburse the state at
the full price for the excess instructional materials.
19 Tex. Admin. Code §
66.107(d), (e).
7. Delivery
A. A
publisher or manufacturer of textbooks shall deliver textbooks to the school
without a delivery charge if:
(1) the
publisher or manufacturer does not maintain or arrange with a depository in
this state, and its textbooks and related products are warehoused or otherwise
stored less than 300 miles from a border of this state; or
(2) the
textbooks are on-line textbooks or on-line textbook components.
B. At
the time an order for textbooks is acknowledged, a publisher or manufacturer of
textbooks shall:
(1) provide
to the school an accurate shipping date for textbooks that are back-ordered;
and
(2) guarantee
delivery of textbooks at least 10 business days before the opening day of
school of the year for which the textbooks are ordered if the textbooks are
ordered by a date specified in the state contract.
8. Distribution
and Handling
A. Textbook
Coordinator
The school board may delegate to an
employee the authority to requisition, distribute, and manage the inventory of
textbooks in a manner consistent with this policy.
B. Textbook
Replacements
The school may order replacements for textbooks that have been
lost or damaged directly from:
(1) The
textbook depository; or
(2) The
textbook publisher or manufacturer, if the textbook publisher does not have a
designated textbook depository in this state.
C. Covering
and Labeling
(1) Each
textbook must state that the textbook is the property of or is licensed to this
state, as appropriate.
(2) Each
textbook, other than an electronic textbook, must be covered by the student
under the direction of the teacher.
D. Responsibility
for Textbooks
(1) A
student must return all textbooks to the teacher at the end of the school year,
or when the student withdraws from school.
(2) Each
student, or the student’s parent or guardian, is responsible for each textbook
not returned by the student. A student
who fails to return all textbooks forfeits the right to free textbooks until
each textbook previously issued but not returned is paid for by the student or
his/her parent/guardian.
(3) As
provided for by school policy, the school may waive or reduce the payment requirement
if the student is from a low-income family. The school shall allow the student to use
textbooks at school during each school day. If a textbook is not returned or paid for, the
school may withhold the student’s records. The school may not, however, prevent a child
from graduating, participating in a graduation ceremony, or receiving a diploma
for failure to return textbooks.
9.
The school board may sell textbooks, other than
electronic textbooks, to a student or another school at the state contract
price.
10. Out-of-Adoption Materials
A. The school
may retain out-of-adoption instructional materials.
B. The
school shall make out-of-adoption instructional materials (other than
electronic instructional materials) available to libraries maintained by city
and county jails, institutions within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
and other state agency institutions.
C. School
officials may donate out-of-adoption instructional materials (other than
electronic instructional materials) to students, adult education programs, and
nonprofit organizations. Individuals and
officials making requests for out-of-adoption instructional materials shall be
responsible for transporting the materials.
D. After all
efforts to donate out-of-adoption instructional materials (other than
electronic instructional materials) to organizations listed under subsection (C)
above, have been exhausted, the school may donate these materials for recycling
locally. Recycling is defined as
removing the bindings and shredding the textbooks for the purpose of producing
new products from the processed materials.
(1) Under no circumstances may the school
sell out-of-adoption instructional materials.
11. Physical Inventory; Surplus
The school shall conduct an annual physical inventory
of all currently adopted instructional materials that have been requisitioned
by, and delivered to, the school. The
results of the inventory shall be recorded in the school’s files. Reimbursement and/or replacement shall be made
for all instructional materials determined to be lost.
After the beginning of every school year, the school
shall determine if it has surplus instructional materials for any subject
area/grade level, based on its current enrollment for the subject area/grade
level. Instructional materials
determined by the school to be surplus-to-quota shall be returned to the State
Textbook Depository in accordance with instructions provided by TEA. The school is entitled to retain
surplus-to-quota instructional materials only when data approved by TEA indicate
that students will be enrolled in the subject and a need for the
surplus-to-quota instructional materials exists.
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12. Accepting
Rebate on Textbooks
A. A
school trustee, administrator, or teacher commits a Class B misdemeanor offense
if that person receives any commission or rebate on any textbooks used in the
schools with which the person is associated as a trustee, administrator, or
teacher.
B. A
school trustee, administrator, or teacher commits a Class B misdemeanor offense
if the person accepts a gift, favor, or service that:
(1) Is given to the person or the person’s
school;
(2) Might
reasonably tend to influence a trustee, administrator, or teacher in the
selection of a textbook; and
(3) Could
not be lawfully purchased with funds from the state textbook fund.