Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

(a) Not later than July 15, 1993, all two-and four-year state institutions of higher education and all state vocational and technical colleges shall, with the input and representation from college bookstore retailers, develop, publish, and implement a plan to ensure that all established college bookstore retailers located in the municipality in which the institution or college is located, shall be provided the same information concerning required and optional textbooks, required academic learning materials, and required custom publications that is provided to any bookstore owned or authorized by the institution.

(b) The plan developed by each institution or college having a bookstore owned or authorized by the institution or college shall:

(1) Ensure that any established college bookstore retailers having retail outlets in the municipality be informed of the method by which they may obtain required and optional textbooks and required academic learning materials. The information shall be provided, upon request, at a central location.

(2) Ensure that textbook information be made available to the college bookstore retailers by a procedure that attempts to give the information to the bookstores owned or authorized by the institutions and colleges and the college bookstore retailers at approximately the same time, but under no circumstances later than two business days after the time it is provided to the bookstores authorized or operated by colleges or institutions.

(3) Ensure that faculty members of the institution or college provide all information necessary in reproducing customized publications for classroom use. This information shall be provided in bibliographic form that shall include, but not be limited to, the author, title, publisher, editor, ISBN number, if known, and inclusive pages to be reproduced. This custom published biographical information shall be provided in the same manner as textbook information is provided at each institution. College bookstore retailers may purchase and resell course-related publications that are published by the institution or college at a discount if a margin is added to the publication, or at cost if not added to the publication, only if the institution's or college's copyright agreement legally covers such a sale.

(4) Create a grievance committee composed of two persons designated by the president of the institution or college and one person designated by the chair of the local chamber of commerce to hear complaints from the college bookstore retailers concerning the implementation of the plan.

To facilitate this article, all faculty members and academic departments shall provide through the established means of the institution or college a written listing of all required and optional textbooks, required academic learning materials, and custom publications for all courses taught.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

(a) The State Textbook Committee is created. The committee shall consider the merit of textbooks offered for use in the public elementary and high schools of the state and make recommendations for approval or rejection, or both, to the State Board of Education as hereinafter provided. In making recommendations to the State Board of Education, the State Textbook Committee shall also consider any recommendations made by the State Courses of Study Committee or by the State Superintendent of Education.

(b) The State Textbook Committee shall be composed of 23 members. Four of the members shall be secondary school classroom teachers and four elementary school classroom teachers. One of these eight members shall be appointed from each of the seven United States Congressional Districts, as such districts are constituted on July 1, 1998, and one shall be appointed statewide. Four members shall be appointed from the state at large, and these four members may be either classroom teachers or persons actively engaged in the supervisory or administrative capacity in the field of education. Two members of the committee shall be employees of state institutions of higher learning. These 14 members of the State Textbook Committee shall each be appointed by the State Board of Education, upon nominations made by the State Superintendent of Education. Nine members shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to the confirmation of the Senate by April 1 of each year, one from each of the seven congressional districts, as such districts are constituted on July 1, 1998, and two appointed statewide and, these two shall be members of local boards of education at the time of their appointment. Two of the members appointed from the congressional districts shall be recommended by the State Superintendent of Education. These nine additional members shall have general knowledge of the subject area to be considered for textbook adoption and shall have a demonstrated ability to read and write at a post high school level and shall not be employed in education.

Membership of the State Textbook Committee shall be inclusive and shall reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state.

(c) All members of the State Textbook Committee shall be appointed for terms of one year, beginning at the call of the State Superintendent of Education. The committee shall be subject to recall by the State Superintendent of Education, thereby extending the length of the member's term, until a new committee is appointed for consideration of the same subject area or areas or grade or grades or any combination thereof. Vacancies in the office of any of the committee members shall be filled by the original appointing authority, and the appointee shall hold office for the unexpired term and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified.

(d) In order to qualify as a member of the State Textbook Committee, each person appointed shall prepare an affidavit to be filed with the State Board of Education within 10 days after notice of the member's appointment stating each of the following:

(1) The member agrees to discharge faithfully all the duties imposed upon him or her as a member of the State Textbook Committee.

(2) The member has no interest, directly or indirectly, in any contract that may be made under this article.

(3) The member has no interest as author, as associate author, as publisher, or as a representative of the author or publisher of any textbook.

(4) The member has no pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in the business or profits of any person, firm or corporation engaged in manufacturing, publishing, or selling textbooks.

(5) The member agrees not to accept any emolument or promise of future reward of any kind from any publisher of textbooks, the publisher's agents or anyone interested in or intending to bias the member's judgment in any way in the selection of any textbook up for adoption.

(6) The member agrees not to reveal to anyone, except to the State Board of Education or the State Superintendent of Education, or both, the findings, ratings, or grading of the State Textbook Committee.

(e) It shall be a misdemeanor for any member of the State Textbook Committee or the secretary of the committee, or for any other person, to disclose ratings and gradings of the committee to anyone except to the State Board of Education or the State Superintendent of Education, or both, until after the contracts are made. Anyone found guilty of doing so shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) and also may be imprisoned or sentenced to hard labor for a term not exceeding six months.

(f) The organizational meeting of each State Textbook Committee shall be called by the State Superintendent of Education and the committee shall meet thereafter on call of the chairperson of the committee or of the State Superintendent of Education. At the organizational meeting, the State Textbook Committee shall elect one of its members to act as chairperson of the committee and one of its members as secretary of the committee. Other necessary meetings shall be held as determined by the State Textbook Committee or upon the call of the chairperson or the State Superintendent of Education. The State Superintendent of Education shall notify the members of the committee of each meeting by registered or certified mail prior to the time of the meeting.

(g) The members of the State Textbook Committee shall be paid per diem expenses at the rate provided by state law during the time they are engaged in such work and in addition shall receive travel expenses at the rate provided by state law for each mile traveled from home to the place of meeting and return, to be paid out of appropriations made to the State Department of Education. Each member of the committee, before receiving per diem for expenses, shall submit to the State Superintendent of Education a notarized statement of the number of miles traveled and the number of days engaged in such work. No member shall be paid for more than 25 days in any school year.

(h) The State Textbook Committee shall make textbook recommendations to the State Board of Education in writing, and both recommendations for approval or rejection, or both, and any dissents therefrom shall be filed with the State Board of Education and shall be made available for public inspection upon filing. The State Textbook Committee may recommend any new material which has been properly bid pursuant to this article, which supports the Alabama course of study for the specific subject, and which is defined as a textbook as prescribed in the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education. New material is defined as material published within three years from the date the State Board of Education begins advertisement for bids for textbooks which shall be considered for adoption by the State Board of Education.

(a) Based upon the recommendations of the State Textbook Committee, the State Board of Education shall adopt textbooks from which local boards of education may adopt for use in their systems. Local boards of education shall not adopt textbooks nor expend public funds for textbooks that have been rejected by the State Board of Education, except for the length of an existing local contract approved by the state superintendent. Members of any local board found doing so shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) and also may be imprisoned or sentenced to hard labor for a term not exceeding six months.

(b) The State Board of Education shall divide the subjects of study in the public schools so that all textbooks on a given subject for grades kindergarten through 12 shall be considered for adoption in one year. New adoptions made during any year shall not be used in the public schools until the next ensuing scholastic year.

(c) The adoption schedule for each subject area shall be determined by the State Superintendent of Education based on the courses of study development schedule, knowledge-base changes, financial considerations, the need for staggered adoption schedules, needs expressed by the local superintendents, contract expiration dates, and other factors deemed appropriate by the State Superintendent of Education.

(d) Prior to adoptions by the State Board of Education, members of the public shall be allowed a reasonable amount of time to be heard concerning any book recommended for adoption or rejection. Adoption or rejection, or both, of textbooks shall be made only at a public meeting of the State Board of Education. Notice of the time and place of the meeting of the State Board of Education to consider adoptions or rejections, or both, shall be given for at least 30 days, by notice to news media and by posting a notice on a bulletin board or in some other conspicuous place in the offices or public rooms of the State Department of Education.

(a) A local textbook committee or committees shall be appointed by each separate local board of education. The number, size, and composition, which shall include parents, of the committee or committees shall be determined by each local board of education. A copy of local school board policies in regard to local textbook committees shall be kept on file by each local superintendent. Names of each person serving on a local textbook committee shall also be kept on file by each local superintendent.

(b) In order to qualify as a member of the committee, each member of the local textbook committee and its secretary shall prepare an affidavit to be filed with the local board of education within 10 days after notice of the member's appointment stating each of the following:

(1) The member agrees to discharge faithfully all the duties imposed upon him or her as a member or as secretary of the textbook committee.

(2) The member has no interest, directly or indirectly, in any contract that may be made under this article for the purchase of textbooks.

(3) The member has no interest as author, as associate author, as publisher, or as a representative of the author or publisher of any textbooks.

(4) The member has no pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in the business or profits of any person, firm, or corporation engaged in manufacturing, publishing, or selling textbooks.

(5) The member agrees not to accept any emolument or promise of future reward of any kind from any publisher of textbooks, the publisher's agent, or anyone interested in or intending to bias the member's judgment in any way in the selection of any textbook for adoption.

(c) Members shall serve for terms of one year.

(d) The local textbook committee shall meet on call of the chairperson of the local board of education for the purpose of recommending textbooks to the local board of education from the list of adoptions by the State Board of Education or from a list submitted to the committee for consideration by the local superintendent or his or her designee, or from both lists. Textbooks which have been rejected by the State Board of Education shall not be considered for future adoption by the local board of education, except for the length of an existing local contract approved by the state superintendent. The recommendations of a local textbook committee shall be by majority vote for each textbook. No textbook shall be used in any public school of this state unless recommended by a local textbook committee and, upon the recommendation of a local superintendent, adopted by the local board of education.

(e) The adoption of a textbook by a local board of education shall be by majority vote of the local board of education and shall be for a period determined by the State Superintendent of Education. Not later than 30 days after the date of the local adoption, the local superintendent of education shall file a report with the State Superintendent of Education listing the title, the name of the author, the publisher, and the date of adoption of the textbook with verification to the state superintendent that all procedures described in subsection (d) have been followed. This procedure shall apply each time a textbook is adopted for use in a local school or school system.

(f) Publishers shall furnish samples of all state-adopted textbooks to each local board of education for evaluation by the local textbook committee. One copy of each textbook adopted by the local textbook committee shall be retained by the local board of education as an official sample. All samples not adopted by the local boards shall be returned to the publishers at the expense of the publishers, and samples of those books adopted shall become the property of the local boards of education. If the publisher fails to reclaim samples of nonadopted books within 90 days, the sample books shall become the property of the local board of education.

(g) Any textbook publisher that solicits a local textbook committee or local board to adopt their textbooks and has not participated in the state adoption process shall provide the reason for not participating in the state adoption process in writing to the local textbook committee and local board at the time of the solicitation. A copy of the document submitted to the local textbook committee and the local board of education shall also be sent to the State Superintendent of Education.

(a) Each year, before the organizational meeting of the State Textbook Committee, the State Board of Education, through the State Superintendent of Education, shall advertise in such manner and for such length of time and at such places as considered advisable, that at a certain time and place determined by the State Board of Education sealed bids or proposals shall be received from publishers for furnishing school textbooks. Publishers and individuals may request an invitation to bid by writing the State Superintendent of Education. The State Board of Education may include additional regulations in the bid form that the State Board of Education deems best for the administration of this article. Any regulations included in the bid forms and accepted by the publisher shall be construed as a part of this article. The bids or proposals for each book shall be based upon a contract period determined by the State Superintendent of Education and shall be accompanied by a specimen copy of each book proposed to be furnished.

(b) Each publisher who makes a bid or proposal to furnish school textbooks shall be required to deposit with the State Treasurer a sum of money in an amount required by the State Board of Education, but not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), according to the number of books the bidder proposes to supply. If the bidder making the deposit shall fail or refuse to make and execute the contract and required bond, the sum shall be forfeited absolutely to the State Board of Education for the use of the State Board of Education for purposes enumerated in this article. The time within which the contract and bond shall be executed shall be stated in the advertisement inviting bids or proposals. All bids shall be sealed and deposited with the State Superintendent of Education to be opened at a time designated by the superintendent, provided bidders have been given reasonable notice in advance.

(c) Publishers shall furnish samples of each textbook submitted for adoption to each member of the State Textbook Committee in order that each member may also seek evaluations from others. All samples of books not adopted by the State Board of Education shall be returned to the publishers at the expense of the publishers, and those adopted shall become the property of the State Department of Education. If the publisher fails to reclaim a sample book within 90 days, the sample book shall become the property of the State Department of Education.

(a) No contract shall be made pursuant to this article for the purchase of textbooks rejected by the State Board of Education. The only contracts entered into by the State Board of Education pursuant to this article shall be for textbooks considered by the State Textbook Committee and adopted by the State Board of Education as provided for in this article.

(b) In addition to all other laws which forbid the use of textbooks in the public schools of the state by authors who are members of the Communist Party or members of communist front organizations, all contracts with publishers for textbooks made pursuant to this article shall stipulate that the author or authors of such book or books is not a member of the Communist Party or known advocate of communism or Marxist socialism and is not a member of a communist front organization.

(c) The maximum price at which the State Board of Education shall contract for local boards of education to pay f.o.b. the local board of education for any books to be used in the public schools of this state, after all discounts have been deducted, shall not exceed the minimum price at which the publisher sells such books in wholesale quantities f.o.b., the publisher's publishing house, after all discounts have been deducted. Any contract made for the purchase of books for use in the public schools of this state at a price higher than such determined maximum shall be void.

(d) Every contract entered into under this article by the State Board of Education on behalf of the local boards of education and any publisher or publishing company shall contain a provision that the publisher covenants and agrees to all of the following:

(1) The publisher is not furnishing under contract executed after the first day of January of the year in which the contract becomes effective, to any state, county, or school district in the United States the textbooks embraced in the contract at a price below the price stipulated in the contract.

(2) If, at any time during the period of the contract, the textbooks named in the contract shall be contracted for at a price to any state, county, or school district in the United States, lower than the price agreed upon in the contract, then that lower price shall become the contract price between the State Board of Education on behalf of the local board of education and the publisher named in the contract.

(3) If, at any time during the period of the contract, any editions of the textbooks named in the contract substantially similar to the official copy on file in the office of the State Superintendent of Education shall be contracted for at a lower price with any state, county, or school district in the United States, the State Board of Education may at its option substitute for the edition contracted for the substantially similar edition at the lower price.

(4) If the publisher offers any free or discounted ancillary items or services, or both, to any local board of education or any public school, the publisher shall offer the same free or discounted ancillary items or services, or both, to all local boards of education or schools under the same or similar circumstances.

(e) If the State Board of Education determines that any book or books contracted for are being sold at a lower contract price in any other state than the price for which the book or books are being sold to Alabama, the contract shall be forfeited. Each contract shall provide that in the event of violation of this pricing agreement, the contractor shall return all money collected for the books and also forfeit the book or books to the respective local boards of education, this being the agreed measure of damages stipulated to have been suffered by the State Board of Education and the local boards of education. Action may be brought in the name of the state on the bond of the contractor for all losses sustained, and any sum recovered shall be deposited to the credit of the Education Trust Fund.

(f) Contracts with textbook publishers shall include all of the following:

(1) A provision that local boards of education shall be permitted to purchase with local funds textbooks for free distribution at the same price at which the local boards of education are permitted to purchase such books with state funds.

(2) The publishers shall replace defective or substandard books without cost to the purchaser.

(3) Provisions for the time of delivery, penalties for delay in delivery, and other provisions as in the judgment of the State Board of Education will insure prompt delivery of all textbooks at the lowest possible price.

(g) In the case of the failure of any contractor to furnish the books as provided in this contract, the bond of the publisher shall be forfeited and the State Board of Education may contract for other books as needed. The State Board of Education may drop any textbook by giving written notice to the publisher at least 90 days in advance and upon the recommendation of the State Textbook Committee to make another adoption instead of the textbook.

(h) The State Board of Education, upon the recommendation of the State Superintendent of Education, may renew or extend contracts for no less than one year nor more than two years. This provision shall be made a part of the publishers contract, and the State Board of Education may exercise the provision by notifying the publisher in advance.

(i) The State Board of Education may include any additional regulations in the contract form that the State Board of Education deems best for the administration of this article, and any regulations included in the contract form and accepted by the publisher shall be construed as a part of this article. Publishers shall be required to comply with additional rules and regulations approved by the State Board of Education as if they were included in this article.

(j) The State Superintendent of Education shall preserve in the offices of the State Department of Education or in another suitable location, one copy of each book which has been made the basis of any contract as the standard specimen of quality and excellence to be maintained in such books during the period of the contract.

(a) Upon receipt of requisitions from the State Superintendent of Education, the state Purchasing Agent shall, in accordance with existing statutes and procedures governing state purchases, issue statewide purchase contracts upon which local boards of education shall issue local purchase orders to the publishers who shall ship the books ordered to the local board of education, shipping charges prepaid.

(b) The State Department of Education in conjunction with the state Purchasing Agent shall furnish contracts from which state-adopted textbooks for the pupils and teachers in classrooms and schools operated under the jurisdiction and supervision of the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation can be purchased. These purchases shall be made from appropriations to the state Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. The State Board of Education may make and enforce regulations for the proper care and accounting for such textbooks.

(c) The State Department of Education in conjunction with the state Purchasing Agent shall furnish contracts from which state-adopted textbooks for the pupils and teachers in classrooms and schools operated under the jurisdiction of the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind can be purchased. These purchases shall be made from appropriations to the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind. The State Board of Education may make and enforce regulations for the proper care and accounting for these textbooks and shall not be required to purchase and furnish special books or materials for the deaf and blind.

(d) The State Department of Education in conjunction with the state Purchasing Agent shall furnish contracts from which state-adopted textbooks for the pupils and teachers in classrooms and schools operated by the Department of Youth Services can be purchased. The cost of the textbooks provided herein shall be paid from appropriations to the Department of Youth Services. The State Board of Education may make and enforce regulations for the proper care and accounting for these textbooks and shall not be required to purchase and furnish any special books or materials under this section.

(e) The State Board of Education shall have no power or authority to enter into any contract or arrangement for furnishing textbooks or providing a depository for textbooks or delivering textbooks.

(a) The State Superintendent of Education, members of the State Board of Education, local superintendents of education, and members of local boards of education shall not do any of the following:

(1) Possess an interest, directly or indirectly, in any contract that might be made pursuant to this article for the purchase of textbooks by the state or local boards of education.

(2) Possess any interest as an author, an associate author, a publisher, a representative or agent of an author or of a publisher of any textbook.

(3) Possess any pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in the business or profits of any person, firm or corporation engaged in manufacturing, publishing, or selling of textbooks.

(4) Accept any emolument, promise of future reward or consideration of value of any kind from any publisher of textbooks or his or her agent.

(b) Each member of the State Board of Education and each member of all local boards of education shall prepare an affidavit as required by Section 16-36-62 in the case of members of local textbook committees.

(c) Any violation of this section shall be unlawful. Upon conviction of such a violation, the person shall be subject to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or five years in the state penitentiary, or both, and his or her office as a superintendent, or as a member of the State Board of Education or member of a local board of education shall be forfeited.

(a) It shall be the duty of the State Board of Education to negotiate with publishers of textbooks or authors of textbooks for the preparation and publication, or either, of special textbooks for use in the public schools of the state. If anyone undertakes the preparation of a special textbook for the purpose of making the textbook more suitable and desirable for use in the public schools of the state, the State Superintendent of Education shall submit the specially prepared textbook or specially arranged textbook to the State Textbook Committee for its findings and ratings as to its desirability and suitability for the purposes offered and these findings and ratings shall be certified to the State Board of Education for its consideration.

(b) If the State Board of Education is unable to obtain what it considers a desirable contract for a special textbook on any particular subject with publishers whose books have been given its approval, the State Board of Education may require the State Superintendent of Education to negotiate with publishers or persons to secure the preparation of a special textbook on the subject or to secure the submission of other texts on the subject for consideration by the State Textbook Committee. The State Board of Education may take other proper action to secure an advantageous contract in behalf of the patrons of the public schools of the state. No special textbook shall be adopted by the board of education unless the textbook has been considered for the purposes for which it was intended to be used by the State Textbook Committee.

(a) The local boards of education, county commissions, and municipal councils or other governing boards of a municipality may appropriate funds for the purpose of creating local revolving funds to be used in securing and distributing textbooks and for the purpose of contributing to the expense of furnishing textbooks. These revolving funds shall be reimbursed from moneys received from sales of textbooks.

(b) Local boards of education, county commissions, and other like governing bodies of the counties or municipalities may appropriate funds for the purpose of purchasing textbooks for free distribution or for rental to the patrons of its public schools under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the respective local boards of education.

(c) All books contracted for shall be shipped upon purchase orders of the local boards of education. The publisher or publishing company shipping the books shall prepare triplicate invoices or bills for the books shipped. These invoices or bills shall be mailed to the local superintendent of education to whom the books are shipped.

(d) The local superintendent of education, upon receipt of any shipment of books as provided herein, shall forthwith determine if the shipment is in accordance with the invoices or bills. Payment shall be made by the local board of education for such purchase and charged against the Foundation Program funds distributed to the local board of education for such purposes or other funds available to the local board of education for such purposes.

(e) Each local board of education shall provide for the safe and dry storage and distribution of all new and used textbooks and, in the case of used textbooks, provide for the collection, storage, and maintenance, including necessary repairs, renovation, and fumigation. The local boards of education shall also provide for the repair of used textbooks and, in compliance with the advice of the State Board of Health, the occasion for and manner of fumigation of used textbooks so as to protect pupils from any diseases which may be transmitted through the reissue of such textbooks.

(f) The local superintendent shall maintain at all times an accurate and up-to-date inventory and shall keep on file such accounting records as may be required or as necessary.

(g) The state Department of Examiners of Public Accounts shall make periodic audits of all accounting books and records pertaining to the textbooks which have been so furnished at state or local expense, requiring a complete accounting for all such textbooks as shown by the records.

(a) All textbooks furnished free of charge to pupils shall be the property of the local board of education, as long as textbook funds are expended as prescribed by law.

(b) When distributed to pupils the textbooks shall be retained for normal use only during the period they are engaged in a course of study for which the textbooks are selected. At the completion of each course of study or otherwise at the instructions of the principal or teacher in charge, the textbooks shall be returned as directed. A receipt shall be required from each pupil, parent, or guardian upon issuance of any textbook, which receipt shall be retained until the return of the textbook.

(c) The parent, guardian, or other person having custody of a child to whom textbooks are issued shall be held liable for any loss, abuse, or damage in excess of that which would result from the normal use of the textbooks. In computing the loss or damage of a textbook which has been in use for a year or more, the basis of computation shall be a variable of 50 to 75 percent of the original cost of the book to the local board of education. If the parent, guardian, or person having custody of the child to whom the textbook was issued fails to pay the assessed damages within 30 days after notification, the student shall not be entitled to further use of the textbooks until remittance of the amount of loss or damage has been made.

(d) All remittances for damages or from the sale of textbooks shall be deposited to the credit of the local textbook fund and shall be used for the repair, maintenance, and replacement of textbooks.

(e) The respective local boards of education may waive the payment as provided in this section if in their judgment the respective parent or guardian is not financially able to make the payment. The local system shall contribute from local funds sums equal to the amount waived.

(f) Pupils enrolled in the public schools or any parent or guardian of the pupil may buy textbooks at the price paid for them by the local board of education. All contracts made with publishers shall so provide. Each local board of education may provide for the sale of such textbooks as may be needed by pupils for whose grades or courses free textbooks are not furnished. Sale of these textbooks may be made by the local board of education in the school system of which the pupil is enrolled. The local board of education may make such sales through a designated employee or agent thereof. No handling charge allowed from the sale shall inure to any member, officer, or employee of any local board of education.

(g) All books issued by the separate schools and school systems may be used by pupils to whom issued in the same manner and to the same extent as though the books were owned by the pupils, their parents, or guardians as the case may be, except that such pupils, parents, or guardians shall be liable for such loss or damage to books as provided in this section and for the return of the textbook.

(h) Any local agent, dealer, clerk, or other person handling or selling the books adopted as school textbooks, who shall demand or receive for any copy of any of the books so adopted more than the contract price shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall for each offense be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500).

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

(a) The Legislature finds that textbooks and other instructional materials are among the basic tools of learning that must exist if Alabama students are to succeed.

(b) All students in the public schools shall be provided with adequate and current textbooks and other necessary instructional supplies for use in their education. Textbooks and other supporting materials shall be appropriate for their course work and shall be in suitable condition. Where textbooks are issued pursuant to Section 16-36-69, every student shall have his or her own copy of the issued textbook of the correct edition, which he or she shall be permitted to take home each day for home study for the entire school year or for the portion of the year when the book is issued.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that it is the student's responsibility, as well as the student's parent or guardian, to care for the textbooks and instructional supplies provided by the state in a manner so that the materials are not damaged to the point of being unusable.

(d) The State Department of Education has a continuing obligation to provide systems and schools with information about textbooks and other instructional materials, including computer software and technology-related materials. The State Textbook Committee shall ensure that textbooks recommended to the State Board of Education for approval support the appropriate course or courses of study.

(e) Instructional supplies, including library books and media resources, science equipment, classroom furniture, audiovisual equipment, maps and globes, chalkboards, art and music supplies, and other educational materials shall be provided in all schools in adequate form and quantity. It shall not be necessary for teachers to make personal expenditures to provide the materials described in this section.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.

Repealed by Act 98-320, §13 effective July 1, 1998.