1-1 By: Hochberg, Delisi (Senate Sponsor - Bivins) H.B. No. 623
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 25, 2001;
1-3 April 26, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Education; May 7, 2001, reported adversely, with favorable
1-5 Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
1-6 May 7, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 623 By: Bivins
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the selection, distribution, and use of public school
1-11 textbooks; providing administrative and criminal penalties.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Section 26.006, Education Code, is amended by
1-14 adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
1-15 (c) A student's parent is entitled to request that the
1-16 school district or open-enrollment charter school the student
1-17 attends allow the student to take home any textbook used by the
1-18 student. Subject to the availability of a textbook, the district
1-19 or school shall honor the request. A student who takes home a
1-20 textbook must return the textbook to school at the beginning of the
1-21 next school day if requested to do so by the student's teacher. In
1-22 this subsection, "textbook" has the meaning assigned by Section
1-23 31.002.
1-24 SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 31, Education Code, is
1-25 amended by adding Section 31.030 to read as follows:
1-26 Sec. 31.030. USED TEXTBOOKS. The State Board of Education
1-27 shall adopt rules to ensure that used textbooks sold to school
1-28 districts and open-enrollment charter schools are not sample copies
1-29 that contain factual errors. The rules may provide for the
1-30 imposition of an administrative penalty in accordance with Section
1-31 31.151 against a seller of used textbooks who knowingly violates
1-32 this section.
1-33 SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 31, Education Code, is
1-34 amended by adding Section 31.1011 to read as follows:
1-35 Sec. 31.1011. TEXTBOOK CREDITS. (a) The commissioner shall
1-36 implement a program to study the use of credits for textbooks. The
1-37 program shall be designed to allow a participating school district
1-38 or open-enrollment charter school to receive credit for textbooks
1-39 purchased at a cost below the cost limit established under Section
1-40 31.025(a).
1-41 (b) The credit is an amount equal to the difference between
1-42 the price paid for a textbook and the cost limit established under
1-43 Section 31.025(a) for that textbook multiplied by the number of
1-44 copies of that textbook the participating school district or
1-45 open-enrollment charter school purchases.
1-46 (c) Fifty percent of the total textbook credit of a
1-47 participating school district or open-enrollment charter school
1-48 shall be credited to the state textbook fund, and 50 percent of the
1-49 credit shall be credited to the participating district or school to
1-50 apply toward the requisition of additional textbooks or electronic
1-51 textbooks on the conforming or nonconforming list.
1-52 (d) The commissioner shall prepare a report relating to the
1-53 use of the textbook credit system and deliver the report to the
1-54 79th Legislature.
1-55 (e) This section expires September 1, 2005.
1-56 SECTION 4. Section 31.103, Education Code, is amended by
1-57 adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
1-58 (c) In making a requisition under this section, a school
1-59 district or open-enrollment charter school may requisition
1-60 textbooks on the conforming or nonconforming list for grades above
1-61 the grade level in which a student is enrolled, except that the
1-62 total quantity of textbooks requisitioned under this section may
1-63 not exceed the limit prescribed by Subsection (b).
1-64 SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 31, Education Code, is
2-1 amended by adding Section 31.1031 to read as follows:
2-2 Sec. 31.1031. SHORTAGE OF REQUISITIONED TEXTBOOKS. If a
2-3 school district or open-enrollment charter school does not have a
2-4 sufficient number of copies of a textbook used by the district or
2-5 school for use during the following school year, and a sufficient
2-6 number of additional copies will not be available from the
2-7 depository or the publisher within the time specified by Section
2-8 31.151(a)(8), the district or school is entitled to:
2-9 (1) be reimbursed from the state textbook fund, at a
2-10 rate and in the manner provided by State Board of Education rule,
2-11 for the purchase of a sufficient number of used adopted textbooks;
2-12 or
2-13 (2) return currently used textbooks to the
2-14 commissioner in exchange for sufficient copies, if available, of
2-15 other textbooks on the conforming or nonconforming list to be used
2-16 during the following school year.
2-17 SECTION 6. Section 31.104(c), Education Code, is amended to
2-18 read as follows:
2-19 (c) Each textbook must state that the textbook is the
2-20 property of or is licensed to this state, as appropriate. [A
2-21 school district or open-enrollment charter school must number or
2-22 place another identifying mark on each textbook. Each teacher
2-23 shall keep a record of the number or other identifying mark of each
2-24 textbook issued to each student.] Each textbook, other than an
2-25 electronic textbook, must be covered by the student under the
2-26 direction of the teacher. [Subject to availability, each school
2-27 district or open-enrollment charter school shall, at the request of
2-28 a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the district or
2-29 school, allow the student to take home any textbook, other than an
2-30 electronic textbook, used by the student. The student must return
2-31 the textbook to school at the beginning of the next school day.] A
2-32 student must return all textbooks to the teacher at the end of the
2-33 school year or when the student withdraws from school.
2-34 SECTION 7. Section 31.151(a), Education Code, is amended to
2-35 read as follows:
2-36 (a) A publisher or manufacturer of textbooks:
2-37 (1) shall furnish any textbook the publisher or
2-38 manufacturer offers in this state, at a price that does not exceed
2-39 the lowest price at which the publisher offers that textbook for
2-40 adoption or sale to any state, public school, or school district in
2-41 the United States;
2-42 (2) shall automatically reduce the price of a textbook
2-43 sold for use in a school district or open-enrollment charter school
2-44 to the extent that the price is reduced elsewhere in the United
2-45 States;
2-46 (3) shall provide any textbook or ancillary item free
2-47 of charge in this state to the same extent that the publisher or
2-48 manufacturer provides the textbook or ancillary item free of charge
2-49 to any state, public school, or school district in the United
2-50 States;
2-51 (4) shall guarantee that each copy of a textbook sold
2-52 in this state is at least equal in quality to copies of that
2-53 textbook sold elsewhere in the United States and is free from
2-54 factual error;
2-55 (5) may not become associated or connected with,
2-56 directly or indirectly, any combination in restraint of trade in
2-57 textbooks or enter into any understanding or combination to control
2-58 prices or restrict competition in the sale of textbooks for use in
2-59 this state;
2-60 (6) shall maintain a depository in this state or
2-61 arrange with a depository in this state to receive and fill orders
2-62 for textbooks, consistent with State Board of Education rules;
2-63 (7) shall, at the time an order for textbooks is
2-64 acknowledged, provide to school districts or open-enrollment
2-65 charter schools an accurate shipping date for textbooks that are
2-66 back-ordered;
2-67 (8) shall guarantee delivery of textbooks at least 10
2-68 business days before the opening day of school of the year for
2-69 which the textbooks are ordered if the textbooks are ordered by a
3-1 date specified in the sales contract; and
3-2 (9) [(8)] shall submit to the State Board of Education
3-3 an affidavit certifying any textbook the publisher or manufacturer
3-4 offers in this state to be free of factual errors at the time the
3-5 publisher executes the contract required by Section 31.026.
3-6 SECTION 8. Section 31.152, Education Code, is amended to read
3-7 as follows:
3-8 Sec. 31.152. ACCEPTING REBATE ON TEXTBOOKS. (a) A school
3-9 trustee, administrator, or teacher commits an offense if that
3-10 person receives any commission or rebate on any textbooks used in
3-11 the schools with which the person is associated as a trustee,
3-12 administrator, or teacher.
3-13 (b) A school trustee, administrator, or teacher commits an
3-14 offense if the person accepts a gift, favor, or service that:
3-15 (1) is given to the person or the person's school;
3-16 (2) might reasonably tend to influence a trustee,
3-17 administrator, or teacher in the selection of a textbook; and
3-18 (3) could not be lawfully purchased with funds from
3-19 the state textbook fund.
3-20 (c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
3-21 (d) In this section, "gift, favor, or service" does not
3-22 include:
3-23 (1) staff development, in-service, or teacher
3-24 training; or
3-25 (2) instructional materials, such as maps or
3-26 worksheets, that convey information to the student or otherwise
3-27 contribute to the learning process.
3-28 SECTION 9. (a) The change in law made by Section 8 of this
3-29 Act applies only to an offense committed on or after September 1,
3-30 2001. For the purposes of this section, an offense is committed
3-31 before September 1, 2001, if any element of the offense occurs
3-32 before that date.
3-33 (b) An offense committed before September 1, 2001, is
3-34 covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
3-35 the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-36 SECTION 10. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
3-37 section, this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of
3-38 two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by
3-39 Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not
3-40 receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes
3-41 effect September 1, 2001.
3-42 (b) Section 8 of this Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
3-43 * * * * *