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2008 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 22.1-238, 22.1-239, 22.1-241, 22.1-242, and 22.1-243 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 22.1-238. Approval of textbooks.
A. The Board of Education shall have the authority to approve textbooks suitable for use in the public schools and shall have authority to approve instructional aids and materials for use in the public schools. The Board shall publish a list of all approved textbooks on its website and shall list the publisher and the current lowest wholesale prices of such textbooks.
B. Any school board may use textbooks not approved by the Board provided the school board selects such books in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Board.
B. In approving basal textbooks for reading in kindergarten
through first grade, the Board shall report to local school boards those
textbooks with a minimum decodability standard based on words that students can
correctly read by properly attaching speech sounds to each letter to formulate
the word at seventy percent or above for such textbooks.
C. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "textbook" means print or electronic media for student use that serves as the primary curriculum basis for a grade-level subject or course.
§ 22.1-239. Basal textbooks.
No textbook approved by the Board for use in the public
schools shall be changed until such book has been in use for a period of not
less than six years, subject to renewal from one to four years, unless such
book becomes obsolete or unless a change would result in a material decrease in
price. The Board may, by agreement with the publisher, permit the substitution
of a revised edition of any adopted book at the lowest price such revised
edition is offered for sale anywhere in the United States. Whenever such book
is so changed, the Board of Education may permit the use of the old books for a
period of at least three years from the date of such change.
In approving basal textbooks for reading in kindergarten and first grade, the Board shall report to local school boards those textbooks with a minimum decodability standard based on words that students can correctly read by properly attaching speech sounds to each letter to formulate the word at 70 percent or above for such textbooks.
§ 22.1-241. Contracts with publishers.
A. The Board of Education Local school boards
shall either enter into written term contracts or issue
purchase orders on an as-needed basis with publishers of textbooks approved
by it the Board for use in the public schools. Such written
contracts or purchase orders for textbooks approved by the Board shall be
exempt from the Virginia Public Procurement Act (§ 2.2-4300 et seq.).
B. The contract price shall not exceed the lowest
wholesale price free on board publisher at which the book or books
involved in the contract are currently bid under contract anywhere in the United States. The Board shall stipulate the price at which school boards may sell the
book or books, which price shall in no case exceed fifteen percent added to the
wholesale price.
C. If, subsequent to the date of any contract entered
into by the Board a local school board, the prices of books named
in the contract are reduced or the terms of the contract are made more
favorable to purchase anywhere in the United States or a special or other
edition of any book named in the contract is sold outside of Virginia at a
lower price than bid contracted in this the Commonwealth,
the publisher shall, in the discretion of the Board of Education, grant
the same reduction or terms to the Board local school board and
give the Board local school board the option of using such
special or other edition adapted for use in Virginia and at the lowest price at
which such special edition is sold elsewhere and the contract shall so state.
D B. The publisher shall furnish sample
copies of all books mentioned in the contract with the Board of Education and
shall guarantee that the books bid in the contract are equal in all respects to
such sample copies. Contracts and purchase orders with publishers of
textbooks approved by the Board shall require the publisher to furnish an
electronic file of the textbook in the National Instructional Materials
Accessibility Standards (NIMAS) format that will then be deposited in the
National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) from which accessible
versions of the particular textbook may be produced for students with print
disabilities, as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1474. Publishers shall deliver the
NIMAS file of the textbook on or before the date of delivery of the regular
text version.
E. When such technology is available or by January 1, 1998,
whichever is earlier, contracts with publishers of textbooks adopted by the
Board shall require the publisher to furnish electronic text from which Braille
versions of the particular textbook may be produced.
C. Every school board shall order directly from the respective publishers the books needed to supply the public schools in the school division. The publishers shall ship the books to the school board. The purchase price of such books shall be paid directly to the publishers by the school board.
D. With the approval of the local school board and the publisher, any private school within the school division that so requests may purchase from the local school board’s contract with the publisher. Such private school shall be fully responsible for ordering, purchasing, and receiving shipments of books to be provided from the publisher pursuant to this section. The local school board shall be immune from any civil liability as a result of a private school purchasing from the local school board’s contract.
§ 22.1-242. State Board to adopt regulations.
Each contract made by the Board with the publisher of
textbooks shall be accompanied by a bond with good and sufficient surety in the
penal sum of not less than $1,000 nor more than $20,000. Such bond shall be
approved by the Board and shall be conditioned upon the performance by the
publisher of all of the terms and conditions of the contract and payment of
liquidated damages as provided for in § 22.1-243 and any damage in excess
thereof which may be proved to be sustained by reason of the violation of such
terms and conditions.
The Board shall adopt regulations governing (i) the purchase of textbooks approved by it for use in the public schools directly from the publishers by school boards and (ii) the distribution of such textbooks for the use by children attending public schools in Virginia.
§ 22.1-243. Distribution of textbooks and consumable materials.
In the case of any misrepresentation of fact in the
contract or upon the violation of any of the terms and conditions required by
the provisions of this article, the publisher shall, upon the demand of the
Board, pay as liquidated damages the sum of $1,000 to the Commonwealth of
Virginia to the credit of the Literary Fund; and, in the case of any such
violation, the Board may, in addition, declare the contract null and void.
A. Each school board shall provide, free of charge, such textbooks required for courses of instruction for each child attending public schools.
B. Consumable materials such as workbooks, writing books, and drawing books may be purchased by school boards and either provided to students at no cost or sold to students at a retail price not to exceed seven percent added to the publisher's price. If sold, the local school board shall develop a policy ensuring that workbooks, writing books, and drawing books are furnished to students who are unable to afford them at a reduced price or free of charge.
2. That §§ 22.1-240, 22.1-244 through 22.1-251, and 22.1-253 of the Code of Virginia are repealed.