Senate Bill 2089

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-43-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE THE TERM "TRADE BOOK" FOR PURPOSES OF THE STATE TEXTBOOK PURCHASING LAW; TO AMEND SECTION 37-43-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ALLOW LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO PETITION THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR PERMISSION TO PURCHASE TRADE BOOKS WITH STATE TEXTBOOK FUNDS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT, LITERACY DEVELOPMENT AND MOTIVATION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. 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 to the pupils in all elementary and high schools, other than charter 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 school districts 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 in any school district 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" shall be defined as any medium or manual of instruction which contains a systematic presentation of the principles of a subject and which constitutes a major instructional vehicle for that subject.

(6) "Trade books" shall be defined as any type of book that is written and published with intent to sell to the general public. Textbooks cover a topic in a prescribed manner, however, a trade book may introduce or expand upon a topic by including it in a fictional setting, or a nonfiction account from real life.

( * * *67) 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).

SECTION 2. 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 * * *~~Section 37-43-31(1)(b)~~ subsecton (1)(b) of this section. 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) If a trade book can be demonstrated by a teacher to engage the interest of students and thereby offer opportunities for vocabulary development, literacy development or motivation in the classroom, a local 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.

( * * *56) 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

( * * *67) 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.

( * * *78) Petition procedure books or series of books or trade 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 or trade 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 or trade books.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.