H 4583 General Bill, By Cooper, Allison, J.M. Baxley, Cato, C.D. Chamblee, 
Easterday, H.M. Hallman, Haskins, Kelley, Klauber, C.V. Marchbanks, Quinn, Rice, 
Robinson, D. Smith, P.H. Thomas, Townsend, Tripp, Trotter, Vaughn, S.S. Wofford, 
W.J. Young and Young-Brickell
 A Bill to amend Title 59, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to
 education, by adding Chapter 28 so as to provide for the manner in which and
 procedures under which each local school district shall adopt, acquire, and
 provide school textbooks and other instructional materials for the schools of
 the district beginning with the school year 1997-98; to amend Section 59-5-60,
 relating to the general powers of the State Board of Education, so as to
 revise its powers with regard to the prescription of school textbooks for use
 in the public schools; and to repeal Chapter 31 of Title 59 relating to the
 state school textbook system.

   02/08/96  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-3
   02/08/96  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public
                     Works HJ-4

A BILL

TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION, BY ADDING CHAPTER 28 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH AND PROCEDURES UNDER WHICH EACH LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL ADOPT, ACQUIRE, AND PROVIDE SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR THE SCHOOLS OF THE DISTRICT BEGINNING WITH THE SCHOOL YEAR 1997-98; TO AMEND SECTION 59-5-60, RELATING TO THE GENERAL POWERS OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, SO AS TO REVISE ITS POWERS WITH REGARD TO THE PRESCRIPTION OF SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS FOR USE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS; AND TO REPEAL CHAPTER 31 OF TITLE 59 RELATING TO THE STATE SCHOOL TEXTBOOK SYSTEM.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 59-28-100. Each school district of this State, through its local board of trustees, shall adopt and provide the textbooks for use by the pupils in the public schools of the district without charge. However, the district shall not be required to furnish materials which shall be consumed or rendered worthless in any one year, such as pencils, tablets, workbooks, drawing materials, and other similar articles.

Section 59-28-110. Each school district also shall furnish library books to the schools of the district.

Section 59-28-120 Each school district shall provide audio-visual equipment, including films and motion-picture projectors, for the use in the schools of the district.

Section 59-28-130. A pupil may purchase the books to be used by him. Each school district shall make proper arrangements for the sale of textbooks to those pupils who desire to purchase them, and the textbooks shall be sold at cost plus actual expenses.

Section 59-28-140. Each school district shall establish a method of distributing the textbooks to the pupils of the district and shall provide for the use, care, and safety of the textbooks, with reasonable penalties for the abuse or destruction of any textbooks, to fall upon those using the textbooks. These provisions shall provide for payment by the pupils, their parents, or legal guardians for the loss of or damage to any textbooks, ordinary wear and tear excepted.

Section 59-28-300. By January first of each year beginning in 1997, and before textbooks are adopted and purchased by a school district, a publisher of textbooks in the United States offering textbooks for use by pupils in the public schools of this State, must file with the State Department of Education the wholesale price list of the textbooks offered for sale. When the publisher offers a textbook after the first day of January, a supplement to the January list must be filed with the State Department of Education showing the wholesale price list of those textbooks. No revised edition of any such textbook shall be used in public schools of this State until the wholesale price list thereof has been filed with the State Department of Education. No publisher shall file the wholesale price of a textbook unless the publisher complies with the following:

(a) When filing the wholesale price of the textbook, the publisher also files the wholesale price of a computer diskette that contains the text of the textbook in the American standard code for information interchange or in another computer language for translating the text of the textbook into braille; and

(b) The wholesale price filed for a specified number of computer diskettes for the textbook does not exceed the wholesale price filed for the printed version of that textbook.

Section 59-28-310. When the price of a textbook is filed with the State Department of Education as provided in Section 59-28-300, the department immediately shall fix the maximum price at which the book may be purchased by local school districts which price must not exceed seventy-five percent of the wholesale price list thereof. The department immediately shall notify the publisher of the maximum price fixed. If the publisher thereafter notifies the department in writing that he accepts the price fixed, and agrees in writing to furnish the textbook for one year at that price, the written acceptance and agreement obligates and entitles the publisher to offer the textbook for sale at that price to local school districts. The duration of the agreement shall be until the next succeeding first day of January. It shall be a part of the contract that the publisher shall reduce the net prices in South Carolina whenever reductions are made elsewhere in the United States, and that the publisher shall file with the Department of Education within ten days, a sworn statement of any reductions made elsewhere, so that at no time shall a textbook filed and listed be sold in South Carolina at a higher net price than the textbook is sold for elsewhere in the United States under like conditions under contract or sales made subsequent to this filing.

Section 59-28-320. If a publisher who agreed in writing to furnish textbooks as provided in Section 59-28-310 fails or refuses to furnish such textbooks to any local school district upon the terms provided in this chapter, the district at once must notify the Department of Education of the failure or refusal, and the department shall investigate the charge to be made. If it is found to be true, the Department of Education shall notify the publisher and each local school district that the textbook shall not thereafter be adopted and purchased by the local school districts.

Section 59-28-330. A local school district shall not adopt or use in the public schools of the district any textbook whose publisher has not complied with the provisions of this chapter as to such book.

Section 59-28-340. Sections 59-28-300 through 59-28-330 do not apply to the purchase of supplementary reading books, library books, reference books, or any other books except textbooks. All of such books except textbooks required by any local school board of trustees shall be ordered, received, examined, and paid for in the manner the local district considers appropriate.

Section 59-28-350. The board of trustees of each school district shall ascertain and determine which, and the number, of each of the textbooks the schools under its jurisdiction require. The district shall order these textbooks from the publisher in the manner and at the price provided by this chapter, who on the receipt of the order must ship them to the district without delay. The district must pay for the textbooks purchased and in addition all charges for the transportation of the textbooks. If the local board at any time can secure from the publishers textbooks at less than the maximum price, it shall do so, and without unnecessary delay may make effort to secure the lower price before adopting any particular textbooks.

Section 59-28-360. A superintendent, principal, administrator, or teacher employed by a school district shall not act as sales agent, either directly or indirectly, for any publisher whose school textbooks are filed with the State Department of Education or for school instructional materials or equipment of any kind for use in the public schools of this State. A violation of this section shall result in the cancellation of their certificates to teach or perform their occupation in the public schools of this State.

Section 59-28-370. Each school district board of trustees shall establish and appoint a textbook and instructional materials advisory committee. This committee shall consist of representative members of the district's professional staff, including representation from the district's curriculum development committees. The advisory committee may include parents at the school board's discretion. However, parent members shall make up less than one-half of the total membership of the advisory committee.

The advisory committee shall make recommendation of textbooks and instructional materials to be used by the district.

Section 59-28-500. Beginning with the 1997-98 fiscal year, the General Assembly in the annual general appropriations act shall provide for the manner in which state general funds and Educational Improvement Act (EIA) funds shall be distributed to the several school districts of this State for the acquisition of school textbooks and other instructional materials. The distribution of such funds must be on per pupil basis based on the weighted pupil units of each district.

Section 59-28-510. During the month of July 1997, all school textbooks and other instructional materials owned by the State Department of Education or other entities must be returned to the department or entity, provided, nothing herein prevents any district from its available funds from purchasing such textbooks or instructional materials for its use after July 1997.

Section 59-28-520. Any provision in a rental agreement between the State Department of Education or a state institution of higher learning and any local school district for the rental or purchase of any school textbooks or instructional materials after July 1, 1997, is declared void as a matter of public policy."

SECTION 2. Section 59-5-60(7) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(7) Prescribe and enforce the use Act as a conduit for the adoption and acquisition by the local school districts in the manner provided in Chapter 32 of this title of textbooks and other instructional materials for the various subjects taught or used in conjunction within the free public schools of the State, both high schools and elementary schools in accordance with the courses of study as prepared and promulgated by the board."

SECTION 3. Chapter 31 of Title 59 of the 1976 Code is repealed.

SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor, and applies to the adoption, acquisition, and provision of school textbooks and other instructional materials by local school districts beginning with the 1997-98 school year.