S*0542(Rat #0199, Act #0140 of 1997)  General Bill, By Fair and Setzler
 A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION
 59-31-45 SO AS TO ESTABLISH A PROCEDURE FOR THE SELECTION OF SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS;
 TO AMEND SECTION 59-31-40, RELATING TO ADOPTION OF NEW TEXTBOOKS BY THE STATE
 BOARD OF EDUCATION, SO AS TO REQUIRE TEXTBOOK CONTRACTS TO HAVE PROVISIONS
 MANDATING THAT TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS BE FREE OF CERTAIN
 ERRORS; TO ADD SECTION 59-31-70 SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN
 WHICH A SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY PURCHASE SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS; TO ADD SECTION 59-31-75
 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PUBLIC SCHOOL MAY NOT BEGIN A COURSE IF STATE-APPROVED
 TEXTBOOKS ARE NOT AVAILABLE ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS AND TO PROVIDE
 EXCEPTIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-31-510, RELATING TO CONTRACTS WITH PUBLISHERS
 FOR THE RENTAL OR PURCHASE OF TEXTBOOKS, SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THESE
 CONTRACTS AND THE MANNER IN WHICH THESE TEXTBOOKS MAY BE PURCHASED, RENTED,
 AND USED; TO AMEND SECTION 59-31-600, RELATING TO STANDARDS FOR TEXTBOOK
 ADOPTIONS, SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THESE STANDARDS AND THE PROCEDURES FOR
 ADOPTING TEXTBOOKS; AND TO ADD SECTION 59-31-610 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC
 REVIEWS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS REGARDING TEXTBOOKS AND INSTRUCTIONAL
 MATERIALS.-AMENDED TITLE

   03/18/97  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-4
   03/18/97  Senate Referred to Committee on Education SJ-4
   04/17/97  Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment
                     Education SJ-11
   04/22/97  Senate Amended SJ-29
   04/22/97  Senate Read second time SJ-29
   04/22/97  Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of
                     amendments SJ-29
   04/30/97  Senate Amended SJ-33
   04/30/97  Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-33
   05/01/97  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-13
   05/01/97  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public
                     Works HJ-13
   05/22/97  House  Committee report: Favorable with amendment
                     Education and Public Works HJ-13
   05/28/97  House  Requests for debate-Rep(s). Scott, Howard,
                     Cobb-Hunter, Neal, Littlejohn, Breeland, Walker,
                     Easterday, Townsend, Loftis, Hamilton, Mack, R.
                     Smith, Stuart, Leach & Sharpe HJ-37
   05/28/97  House  Amended HJ-92
   05/28/97  House  Read second time HJ-96
   05/28/97  House  Roll call Yeas-81  Nays-8 HJ-96
   05/29/97  House  Read third time and returned to Senate with
                     amendments HJ-41
   06/05/97  Senate Concurred in House amendment and enrolled SJ-150
   06/09/97         Ratified R 199
   06/11/97         Signed By Governor
   06/11/97         Effective date 06/11/97
   07/09/97         Copies available
   07/09/97         Act No. 140

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 59-31-45 SO AS TO ESTABLISH A PROCEDURE FOR THE SELECTION OF SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-31-40, RELATING TO ADOPTION OF NEW TEXTBOOKS BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, SO AS TO REQUIRE TEXTBOOK CONTRACTS TO HAVE PROVISIONS MANDATING THAT TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS BE FREE OF CERTAIN ERRORS; TO ADD SECTION 59-31-70 SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH A SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY PURCHASE SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS; TO ADD SECTION 59-31-75 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PUBLIC SCHOOL MAY NOT BEGIN A COURSE IF STATE-APPROVED TEXTBOOKS ARE NOT AVAILABLE ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-31-510, RELATING TO CONTRACTS WITH PUBLISHERS FOR THE RENTAL OR PURCHASE OF TEXTBOOKS, SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THESE CONTRACTS AND THE MANNER IN WHICH THESE TEXTBOOKS MAY BE PURCHASED, RENTED, AND USED; TO AMEND SECTION 59-31-600, RELATING TO STANDARDS FOR TEXTBOOK ADOPTIONS, SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THESE STANDARDS AND THE PROCEDURES FOR ADOPTING TEXTBOOKS; AND TO ADD SECTION 59-31-610 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC REVIEWS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS REGARDING TEXTBOOKS AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.

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

Selection of textbooks

SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-31-45. (A) In addition to any other method of textbook selection, the State Board of Education shall add to the approved list of textbooks for use in the public schools of this State any textbook or series of textbooks which have been reviewed and not adopted by the state board if the textbook or series is requested in writing by the boards of trustees of five or more school districts or by the boards of trustees of two or more school districts with a combined population of twenty-five thousand or more students. Local school districts shall establish procedures under which principals and teachers of the district may transmit textbook requests as permitted by this section.

(B) The number of requests required to be received above shall be as received during any three hundred sixty-five day period. A textbook so required to be added to the approved list shall be added within thirty days following the receipt by the state board of the requisite number of requests, provided that the publishers whose textbooks are to be added to the approved list as provided in this section comply with the same provisions regarding textbooks as other publishers including, but not limited to, price, durability, and availability. No designation shall be included upon the approved list which indicates the manner in which any textbook was added to the list."

Textbooks to be error free

SECTION 2. Section 59-31-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-31-40. The meetings of the State Board of Education in any year at which an adoption is made must be public. New textbooks adopted by the State Board of Education in any year must not be used in the free public schools of this State until the next school session begins. Each contract between the State Board of Education and a publisher of textbooks and instructional materials or vendor of instructional technology must require that all textbooks or other instructional material rented or purchased by the State be free of any clear, substantive, factual, or grammatical error. The contract also must allow the State Board of Education to require reasonable remedies if an error is found."

Purchase of textbooks

SECTION 3. Article 1, Chapter 31, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-31-70. A school district may purchase school textbooks approved by the Board of Education for instructional use directly from a publisher under contract with the state board when needed for instruction by the school district if the textbooks are not available from the State Department of Education. In this event, the district shall be reimbursed from state school textbook funds of the Department of Education when these textbook funds become available, in accordance with any agreement between the school district and the department."

Textbooks required

SECTION 4. Article 1, Chapter 31, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is further amended by adding:

"Section 59-31-75. A public school may not begin a course if state-approved textbooks or other course material is not available on the first day of class or if the delivery date is after the first two weeks of classes unless the board of trustees determines that the class should be offered."

Contracted provisions

SECTION 5. Section 59-31-510 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-31-510. The State Board of Education may negotiate and execute contracts with the publishers of textbooks and instructional materials and vendors of instructional technology that allow the State to rent from the publishers or buy outright the books to be used in the public schools, with discretion in the State Board of Education to make rental contracts or purchase contracts as may be to the best advantage of the State. A contract made with a publisher of textbooks may be made so as to divide the payment to the publisher for rental or purchase over a period of three years, but it must not be construed to prevent the State Board of Education from purchasing or renting additional books as necessary. If the State Board of Education decides to purchase outright the books to be used in the schools of this State, they must be purchased at the lowest possible prices and, so far as existing contracts for state-adopted books shall permit, pursuant to competitive bidding."

Textbook adoptions

SECTION 6. Section 59-31-600 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-31-600. When the State Board of Education determines that a textbook or instructional material adoption is needed in a specific field, the board shall direct evaluating and rating committees to assess the textbook or instructional material for the development of higher-order thinking skills and problem solving. Each evaluation and rating committee may have up to twenty-five percent lay membership. A majority of those appointed to the committee must be full-time classroom teachers. In addition to monitoring the accuracy of facts and grammar, the committee shall include in its rating and evaluating criteria, where applicable, satisfaction of state mandates for graduation criteria and support for the benefits of the American economic and political system. The results of each evaluating and rating committee's assessment must be included in its written report to the State Board of Education. Where otherwise satisfactory, the evaluating and rating committee shall recommend and the State Board of Education shall adopt textbooks and other instructional materials which develop higher-order thinking skills."

Public review and hearings

SECTION 7. Article 5, Chapter 31, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-31-610. The State Superintendent of Education shall make arrangements for a thirty-day public review of materials recommended by the instructional materials review panels prior to taking those recommendations to the State Board of Education. The public review sites must be geographically distributed around the State at as many state-supported colleges and universities or, if necessary, other designated sites as may agree to host the reviews. Public review sites shall be advertised in each congressional district in the newspaper with the largest circulation figures for that district.

The state board shall hold a public hearing before adopting any textbook or instructional material for use in the schools of this State."

Time effective

SECTION 8. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Approved the 11th day of June, 1997.