House Bill 466

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-43-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH THE FLEXIBLE AUTHORITY TO USE ELECTRONIC TEXTBOOKS IN ADDITION TO OR AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL BOUND TEXTBOOKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF STUDENT INSTRUCTION; TO PROHIBIT STUDENTS FROM CARRYING ELECTRONIC DEVICES THAT ARE PROPERTY OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HOME; TO REQUIRE TEACHERS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS OR LEGAL GUARDIAN THE ACCESS CODE TO ALLOW THE STUDENT TO ACCESS THE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL AT HOME UPON A PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICE; TO DEFINE THE TERM "ELECTRONIC TEXTBOOK"; 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 or electronic textbooks to be made available 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. However, in the case of electronic textbooks, students shall not be allowed to carry home for study those electronic devices upon which the instructional text and literary are provided and which are the property of the school district. Instead, the teacher shall provide the student and/or the student's parent or legal guardian, in case of elementary school students, with the necessary access code to render such material accessible to the student at home upon a personal electronic device.

(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, 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) 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).

(7) "Electronic textbook" means any book or book substitutes that a student accesses through the use of a computer, E-reader, electronic device or other electronic medium that is available through an Internet-based provider of course content, or any other material that contributes to the learning process through electronic means.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.