MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Arnold
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO DETERMINE ANNUALLY THE AREAS IN WHICH DIGITAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR ADOPTION OF TEXTBOOKS; TO REQUIRE THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO APPOINT EXPERTS TO REVIEW THE DIGITAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND EVALUATE THE CONTENT FOR ALIGNMENT WITH THE APPLICABLE STATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS; TO REQUIRE THAT ALL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES K-12 BE PROVIDED IN ELECTRONIC OR DIGITAL FORMAT AT THE START OF THE 2015-2016 ACADEMIC YEAR; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP A TRAINING PROGRAM FOR INDIVIDUALS SELECTED AS INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL REVIEWERS; TO REQUIRE THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT TO CERTIFY TO EACH LOCAL SUPERINTENDENT AN ESTIMATED ALLOCATION OF STATE FUNDS FOR THE PURCHASE OF MATERIAL; TO REQUIRE EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT TO USE 50% OF ITS ANNUAL TEXTBOOK ALLOCATION FOR THE PURCHASE OF DIGITAL OR ELECTRONIC INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND DEVICES BY THE 2015-2016 FISCAL YEAR; TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF LOCAL INSTRUCTIONAL IMPROVEMENT SYSTEMS WITHIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO ALLOW THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO DESIGNATE PILOT PROGRAM SCHOOLS TO IMPLEMENT THE TRANSITION TO DIGITALLY OR ELECTRONICALLY FORMATTED INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS; TO CREATE THE DIGITAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WORK GROUP FOR THE PURPOSE OF PLANNING AND MONITORING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRANSITION TO DIGITAL OR ELECTRONIC INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-43-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXPAND THE DEFINITION OF TEXTBOOKS TO INCLUDE ELECTRONIC TEXTBOOKS; TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO CONTRACT WITH THE PUBLISHERS OF TEXTBOOKS FOR THE PURCHASE OF LICENSE AGREEMENTS TO USE THE TEXTBOOK IN A DIGITAL OR ELECTRONIC FORMAT THAT IS ACCESSIBLE BY STUDENTS THROUGH THE USES OF A COMPUTER, E-READER OR OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIUM; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-43-19, 37-43-31 AND 37-43-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) (a) The State Superintendent of Public Education shall determine annually the areas in which digital instructional materials shall be submitted to the State Board of Education for adoption, taking into consideration the desires of the district school boards. The State Superintendent of Public Education shall also determine the number of titles in each area to be submitted to the board for adoption.
(b) By April 15 of each school year, the State Superintendent of Public Education shall appoint three (3) experts in the content areas submitted for adoption to review the digital instructional materials and evaluate the content for alignment with the applicable state curriculum standards, and to assist the textbook rating committee, established in Section 37-43-21, in selecting the appropriate electronic textbooks to be used in public schools throughout the state. These reviewers shall be designated as state instructional materials reviewers and shall review the materials for the level of instructional support and the accuracy and appropriateness of progression of introduced content. Instructional materials shall be made electronically available to the reviewers. The initial review of the materials shall be made by only two (2) of the three (3) reviewers. If the two (2) reviewers reach different results, the third reviewer shall break the tie. The reviewers shall independently make recommendations to the State Superintendent of Public Education regarding materials that should be placed on the list of adopted materials through an electronic feedback review system.
(c) The State Superintendent of Public Education shall request each district school superintendent to nominate one (1) classroom teacher or district-level content supervisor to review two (2) or three (3) of the submissions recommended by the state instructional materials reviewers. School districts shall ensure that these district reviewers are provided with the support and time necessary to accomplish a thorough review of the instructional materials. District reviewers shall independently rate the recommended submissions on the instructional usability of the resources.
(2) For purposes of this act, the term "instructional materials" means items having intellectual content that by design serve as a major tool for assisting in the instruction of a subject or course. These items may be available in bound, unbound, kit, or package form and may consist of hardcover or softcover textbooks, electronic content, consumables, learning laboratories, manipulatives, electronic media, and computer courseware or software. A publisher or manufacturer providing instructional materials as a single bundle shall also make the instructional materials available as separate and unbundled items, each priced individually. A publisher may also offer sections of state adopted instructional materials in digital or electronic versions at reduced rates to districts, schools, and teachers.
(3) Beginning in the 2015-2016 academic year, all adopted instructional materials for students in kindergarten through Grade 12 must be provided in an electronic or digital format. For purposes of this section, the term:
(a) "Electronic format" means text-based or image-based content in a form that is produced on, published by, and readable on computers or other digital devices and is an electronic version of a printed book, whether or not any printed equivalent exists.
(b) "Digital format" means text-based or image-based content in a form that provides the student with various interactive functions that:
(i) Can be searched, tagged, distributed and used for individualized and group learning;
(ii) Includes multimedia content such as video clips, animations and virtual reality; and
(iii) Has the ability to be accessed at any time and anywhere.
The terms do not include electronic or computer hardware, even if the hardware is bundled with software or other electronic media, nor does it include equipment or supplies.
(4) The State Department of Education shall develop a training program for persons selected as state instructional materials reviewers and school district reviewers. The program shall be structured to assist reviewers in developing the skills necessary to make valid, culturally sensitive and objective decisions regarding the content and rigor of instructional materials. All persons serving as instructional materials reviewers must complete the training program before beginning the review and selection process.
SECTION 2. (1) On or before July 1 each year, the State Superintendent of Public Education shall certify to each district school superintendent the estimated allocation of state funds for instructional materials and the expenditure of those funds for the purchase of devices upon which the materials may be accessed electronically.
(2) (a) The State Department of Education shall purchase current instructional materials to provide students in each school district with a major tool of instruction in core courses of the subject areas of mathematics, language arts, science, social studies, reading, and literature for kindergarten through Grade 12. The purchase must be made within the first two (2) years after the effective date of the adoption cycle. For the 2014-2015 mathematics adoption, a district using a comprehensive mathematics instructional materials program adopted in the 2011-2012 adoption cycle shall be deemed in compliance with this subsection if it provides each student with such additional state-adopted materials as may be necessary to align the previously adopted comprehensive program to common core standards and the other criteria of the 2014-2015 mathematics adoption.
(b) The department shall purchase electronic devices as prescribes in this act to be issued to school districts upon requisition to the department by each school district. Additionally the department is authorized to enter into agreement with the publishers of any electronic instructional materials for the purchase of license agreements to use the materials in the teaching of students in Grades K-12.
(3) (a) By the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the department shall use at least fifty percent (50%) of the annual allocation for the purchase of digital or electronic instructional materials included on the state-adopted list, except as otherwise authorized in paragraphs (b) and (c).
(b) Up to fifty percent (50%) of the annual allocation may be used for the purchase of electronic devices through which instructional materials may be accessed through as Internet-based provider and licensees of digitally formatted material, including, but not limited to, computers, E-readers, I-pads, personal communication devices or any other electronic medium.
(4) The funds described in subsection (3) of this section which district school boards may use to purchase materials shall be used for the purchase of instructional materials or other items having intellectual content which assist in the instruction of a subject or course. These items may be available in bound, unbound, kit, or package form and may consist of hardcover or softcover textbooks, electronic content, learning laboratories, manipulatives, electronic media, computer courseware or software, and other commonly accepted instructional tools as prescribed by State Board of Education policy.
(5) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, and each district school superintendent shall implement procedures, that assure the maximum use by students of the authorized instructional materials and devices.
SECTION 3. (1) The term "local instructional improvement system" means a system that uses electronic and digital tools that provide teachers, administrators, students, and parents with data and resources to systematically manage continuous instructional improvement. The system supports relevant activities such as instructional planning, information gathering and analysis, rapid-time reporting, decision making on appropriate instructional sequence, and evaluating the effectiveness of instruction. The system shall integrate instructional information with student-level data to provide predictions of future student achievement.
(2) The department shall provide each school district teachers, administrators, students, and parents access to a local instructional improvement system. The system must provide access to electronic and digital instructional materials and teaching and learning tools and resources, including the ability for teachers and administrators to manage, assess, and track student learning.
(3) By June 30, 2014, a school district's local instructional improvement system shall comply with minimum standards established by the department. The system must allow for a single, authenticated sign-on and include the following functionality:
(a) Vertically searches for, gathers, and organizes specific standards-based instructional materials;
(b) Enables teachers to prepare lessons, individualize student instruction, and use best practices in providing instruction, including the ability to connect student assessment data with electronic and digital instructional materials;
(c) Provides communication, including access to up-to-date student performance data, in order to help teachers and parents better serve the needs of students;
(d) Provides access for administrators to ensure quality of instruction within every classroom;
(e) Enables district staff to plan, create, and manage professional development and to connect professional development with staff information and student performance data; and
(f) Provides access to multiple content providers and provides the ability to seamlessly connect the local instructional improvement system to electronic and digital content.
(4) The department shall provide advisory assistance as requested by school districts in their development of a local instructional improvement system.
(5) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to administer this section, including rules that establish minimum standards for a local instructional improvement system.
SECTION 4. (1) The State Board of Education may designate pilot program schools to implement the transition to instructional materials that are in an electronic or a digital format as defined in Section 1 of this act.
(2) The board may designate pilot program schools if a school district:
(a) Implements a local instructional improvement system as prescribed under Section 3 of this act, which enables district staff to plan, create, and manage professional development and to connect professional development with staff information and student performance, provides the ability to seamlessly connect the system to electronic and digital instructional materials and the instructional materials to student assessment data, and includes the minimum standards published by the Department of Education.
(b) Requests only the electronic or digital format of the sample copies of instructional materials submitted under Section 37-43-23.
(c) Uses at least fifty percent (50%) of the pilot program school's annual allocation from the district for the purchase of electronic or digital instructional materials included on the state-adopted list.
(3) A school designated as a pilot program school by the State Board of Education is exempt from:
(a) Section 2(2) of this act, if the school provides comprehensive electronic or digital instructional materials to all students; and
(b) The provisions of Section 37-43-47, relating to the payment of bills for textbooks.
(4) By August 1 of each year, beginning in 2014, the department must report to the State Board of Education the schools which have been designated as pilot program schools. The department shall publish the list of pilot program schools on the department's website. The report must include:
(a) The name of the pilot program school, the school district where located, the name of the contact person and contact person information, and the grade or grades and associated course or courses included in the pilot program school.
(b) A description of the type of technological tool or tools that will be used to access the electronic or digital instructional materials included in the pilot program school, whether district-owned or student-owned.
(c) The projected costs and funding sources, which must include cost savings or cost avoidances associated with the pilot program.
(5) By September 1 of each year, beginning in 2014, each school board that has a designated pilot program school shall provide to the Department of Education, the Office of the Governor, and the chairmen of the Education and Appropriations committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives a review of the pilot program schools which must include, but need not be limited to:
(a) Successful practices;
(b) The average amount of online internet time needed by a student to access and use the school's electronic or digital instructional materials;
(c) Lessons learned;
(d) The level of investment and cost-effectiveness; and
(e) Impacts on student performance.
SECTION 5. (1) The Digital Instructional Materials Work Group is created to plan and monitor the implementation of the transition to digital instructional materials as required in Section 1(3) and Section 2(3) of this act.
(2) The State Superintendent of Public Education or his or her designee, shall serve as the ex officio, nonvoting executive director of the work group.
(3) The work group shall be comprised of the following:
(a) One (1)school district instructional technology expert;
(b) One (1) school district instructional content expert with experience in digital learning initiatives;
(c) One (1) representative from an institution of postsecondary education;
(d) One (1) high school principal with experience in digital learning initiatives;
(e) One (1) middle school principal
with experience in digital learning initiatives;
(f) One (1) business representative; and
(g) One (1) parent.
(4) A member may not represent a company that has a business interest in education content or technology.
(5) The chair shall schedule and conduct the first meeting of the work group by October 1, 2013. The work group shall conduct a majority of its meetings virtually.
(6) The work group shall submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the State Board of Education by March 1, 2014. The report shall include an implementation plan for meeting the deadline of transition to digital instructional materials as provided in Section 1(3) and Section 2(3) of this act. The plan must specify options for the provision of access to electronic devices for students, options for providing content by subject area, provisions for training and professional development for teachers, and a detailed review of options for funding, including the reprioritization of existing resources and recommendations for new funding.
SECTION 6. Section 37-43-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-43-1. (1) This chapter is intended to furnish a plan for the adoption, purchase, distribution, care and use of free textbooks to be loaned or electronic textbooks and electronic devices, as authorized in Sections 1 through 5 of this act, to be made available to the pupils in all elementary and high schools of Mississippi.
(2) The books herein provided by the State Board of Education, which shall be the State Textbook Procurement Commission, shall be distributed and loaned free of cost to the children of the free public schools of the state and of all other schools located in the state, which maintain educational standards equivalent to the standards established by the State Department of Education for the state schools as outlined in the Approval Requirements of the State Board of Education for Nonpublic Schools.
(3) Teachers shall permit all pupils in all grades of any public school to carry to their homes for home study, the free textbooks loaned to them, and any other regular textbooks whether they be free textbooks or not.
(4) For the purposes of this chapter, the term "board" shall mean the State Board of Education.
(5) "Textbook" * * *
means
any medium or manual of instruction, printed or electronic, which
contains a systematic presentation of the principles of a subject and which
constitutes a major instructional vehicle for that subject.
(6) * * *
"Electronic
textbook" means any book or book substitutes that a student accesses
through the use of a computer, E-reader or other electronic medium or that is
available through an Internet-based provider of course content, or any other
material that contributes to the learning process through electronic means.
( * * *7) In addition to the authority
granted in this chapter, local school boards shall make available to the
parents or legal guardians of any children of school age who reside in the
school district administered by the school board, upon request, any textbooks
on the state surplus inventory list. The parent or legal guardian is
responsible for the return of the textbook(s) to the local school district upon
completion of the textbook(s) use. Failure to return the textbook(s) to the
school district will result in the parents or legal guardians being responsible
for compensating the school district for the fair market value of the
textbook(s).
(8) In addition to the authority granted in this chapter, the State Department of Education is empowered to enter into contract with the publishers of any textbook on the state-adopted list used as instructional material for the purchase of license agreements to use the textbook in digital or electronic format in the teaching of students in grades K-12, which provides student access through the uses of a computer, E-reader or other electronic medium.
SECTION 7. Section 37-43-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-43-19. The board shall have the power and is hereby authorized:
(a) To promulgate rules and regulations for the purchase, care, use, disposal, distribution and accounting for all books to be furnished under the terms of this chapter, and to promulgate such other rules and regulations as may be necessary for the proper administration of this chapter.
(b) To adopt, contract
for, and make available for purchase, cash or credit, basal, supplementary * * *, alternative or electronic
textbooks and electronic devices, as authorized in Sections 1 through 5 of
this act, through twelve (12) grades as provided in the school curriculum,
or for any other course that it may add thereto.
(c) To determine the period of contract for rated and adopted textbooks which shall not be for less than four (4) years nor more than five (5) years, with the right of the board, in its discretion, to renew or extend such contract from year to year for a period not exceeding two (2) additional years and to determine the conditions of the approval or forfeiture of a contract and such other terms and conditions as may be necessary and not contrary to law.
(d) To have complete power and authority over additions and amendments to textbooks, advertising for bids and the contents thereof, including auxiliary materials and workbooks, advertising on the protective covers of textbooks, bids and proposals, prices of textbooks, specimen copies, cash deposits, selection and adoption, distribution, fumigation, emergencies, selling to others, return of deposits, forfeiture of deposits, regulations governing deposits, renovation and repair of books, requisition, transportation or shipment of books, and any other acts or regulations, not contrary to law, that may be deemed necessary for furnishing and loaning free textbooks to the school children, as provided in this chapter.
SECTION 8. Section 37-43-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-43-23. (1) The
State Board of Education is * * * authorized, empowered and directed to
advertise for and receive sealed bids for textbooks. Bidders shall quote their
lowest net wholesale prices, f.o.b. Central Depository, Jackson, Mississippi;
however, the board may, in its discretion, establish a state depository or
depositories or inaugurate any other plan for the distribution of books. * * * The prices shall not be higher than
the lowest price at which books are sold anywhere in the United States, after
all discounts are allowed. It is the intent of the Legislature that the price
paid for a textbook shall not exceed the lowest price at which the same book,
both having the same copyright date, is sold anywhere in the United States
after all discounts are allowed. Every contract entered into under the
provisions of this section by the board and any publisher or publishing company
shall contain a provision that the publisher covenants and agrees that he is
not furnishing under contract executed after the first day of January of the
year in which the contract becomes effective, to any state, county or school
district in the United States, the textbooks embraced in the contract at a
price below the price stipulated therein. At any time that the board may find
that any book or books, in either regular or special editions, are being
furnished in any other state at a lower price under contract than it is being
furnished in Mississippi, the contract shall be forfeited to the state. Any
contractor who violates this provision shall return all money paid out for such
book or books and also forfeit such book or books to the state, and suit may be
brought on the bond of the contractor for all losses sustained.
(2) Successful bidders or contractors shall be required to maintain a depository at a place within the State of Mississippi, to be named by the board, where a stock of books sufficient to meet all reasonable and immediate demands shall be kept. Upon requisition of the board, the depository shall ship books, transportation charges paid, to the various shipping points in Mississippi to be specified by the board. For such service the depository shall make no charge to the board except the actual cost of transportation from the depository to the shipping point designated. The cost of distribution shall not exceed eight percent (8%) of the total appropriation for any fiscal year.
(3) All books furnished the State of Mississippi by contractors under this chapter shall continue to measure up to the same standards as are required in the contract, said standards to include printing, binding, cover boards, mechanical makeup, and any other relevant points as set out in the plans and specifications as fixed by the board. Any contractor of any book or books, who fails to keep said books up to said standards, shall forfeit, not only his contract to the state, but shall return all money paid out for such book or books and also forfeit said books to the state.
(4) (a) As it relates to electronic textbooks and electronic devices, the advertisements shall give information regarding digital specifications that have been adopted by the department, including minimum format requirements that will enable electronic and digital content to be assessed through a school district's local instructional improvement system and a variety of mobile, electronic and digital devices. Beginning with specifications released in 2014, the digital specifications shall include requiring the capabilities for searching by state standards and site and student-level licensing. The digital format specifications shall be appropriate for the interoperability of the content.
(b) Sample copies of all instructional materials that have been made the bases of contracts under this section shall, upon request for the purpose of public inspection, be made available by the publisher to the department and the local school superintendent of each school district that adopts instructional material from the state list.
SECTION 9. Section 37-43-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-43-31. (1) The State Board of Education shall adopt and furnish textbooks only for use in those courses set up in the state course of study as recommended by the State Accreditation Commission and adopted by such board, or courses established by acts of the Legislature. In all subjects the board, in its discretion, may adopt textbooks and/or series from those recommended by the textbook rating committees. The board may adopt a plan which permits the local school districts to choose the book or books to be requisitioned from those adopted, provided:
(a) That, when a book is furnished by the state, it shall remain in use during the period of its adoption;
(b) That the average per pupil cost of textbooks so furnished any unit shall not exceed that allowed for all other units in the state;
(c) That nothing herein provided shall be construed as giving any school the authority to discard or replace usable copies of textbooks now being furnished by the state;
(d) That the State
Department of Education is authorized to disburse the annual textbook
appropriation directly to the public school districts in accordance with * * * paragraph
(b) of this subsection. The textbooks procured through this chapter, as
well as textbooks which are on hand on June 30, 1994, which were previously
purchased through the provisions of this statute, shall become the property of
the public school district which purchased them, unless the State Department of
Education authorizes the transfer of unneeded textbooks to another location in
accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of
Education;
(e) That textbooks which are on loan to other than public schools as referenced in Section 37-43-1, shall remain the property of the State of Mississippi. All requisitions for textbooks from these schools shall be submitted to the State Department of Education to be processed and subsequently shipped to the requesting school. No funds shall be disbursed directly from the State Department of Education to the schools in this category for the purpose of procuring textbooks; and
(f) That funds made available through this chapter may be used to purchase any state-adopted or nonadopted textbook from any state depository, directly from the publisher, or in accordance with the provisions of Sections 37-43-21(5) and 37-43-31(3). For purchases made directly from the publisher, the public school district, or the State Department of Education when purchasing for other than public schools, shall not pay a higher price for a textbook than that listed on the current state-adopted list.
(2) Whenever any book under contract is displaced by a new adoption, the board may continue to require the schools to use the recently purchased books from any previous adoption; however, such period of use shall not exceed four (4) years.
(3) If five (5) or more school boards petition the State Board of Education to add a book, or a series of books, to the approved list of state adoptions in a given subject area, then the State Superintendent of Public Education shall have sixty (60) days to show cause to the State Board of Education why the books in question should or should not be purchased with state funds. If the petition is not acted upon within the sixty-day period, the petition shall be deemed to be approved. Once a textbook has been approved through the petition process, any public school district or eligible other school may procure the said textbook utilizing funds appropriated through this chapter.
(4) If new and innovative textbooks that would improve a particular course of study become available between adoption cycles, a school board may petition the State Board of Education for permission to purchase these books out of sequence to be paid for with state textbook funds.
(5) The State Board of Education shall not allow previously rejected textbooks to be used if such textbooks were rejected for any of the following reasons:
(a) Obscene, lewd, sexist or vulgar material;
(b) Advocating prejudicial behavior or actions; or
(c) Encouraging acts determined to be antisocial or derogatory to any race, sex or religion.
(6) All books or series of books adopted under the petition procedures of this chapter shall be purchased under the provisions for bidding, pricing and distribution as prescribed in Section 37-43-23.
(7) Petition procedure books or series of books adopted under this section shall be considered only until the date of the next regular adoption series in the applicable subject area. Petition procedure books shall be submitted for formal adoption at the next applicable regular textbook adoption as prescribed under the provisions of Chapter 43, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972; otherwise, such books adopted under the petition procedures which do not receive formal adoption approval as recommended by the textbook rating committee shall be dropped from the state textbook petition adoption list. Provided, however, this provision shall in no way prohibit a school district from using other funds, federal or local, for the purchase of such books.
SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.