Textbooks
The term “textbook” shall refer to a book supplied to a student for a fixed period of time for his/her personal use and basic to the study of a subject. The Board of Education shall make provision for funds to be budgeted for the purchase of textbooks and related instructional materials.
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, the Board of Education shall designate the textbooks to be used. The Superintendent will propose a textbook after seeking the recommendations from professional staff. Textbooks, once designated, cannot be superseded within a period of five (5) years except by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Board.
Approved textbooks will be reviewed on a scheduled basis using a process and criterion established by the Assistant Superintendent of Instruction. When a new text is necessary, the staff affected by the selection will be consulted through a selection procedure established by the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction. Criteria established by the State Education Department for the selection of textbooks should be considered, and supplemented by district criteria.
Each school district has the option of participating in the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC). Whether a district does or does not participate in NIMAC, the district will be responsible to ensure that each student who requires instructional materials in an alternate format will receive it in a timely manner and in a format that meets NIMAS standards (8 NYCRR Section 200.2(b)(10)). The New York State Education Department (NYSED) recommends that school districts choose to participate in NIMAC, because this national effort to centralize the distribution of instructional materials in alternate formats will help guarantee timely provision of such materials to students.
For school districts, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), State-operated schools, State-supported schools and approved private schools that choose to participate in NIMAC, contracts with publishers executed on and after December 3, 2006 for textbooks and other printed core materials must include a provision that requires the publisher to produce NIMAS files and send them to the NIMAC (this will not add any cost to the contract).
For more information regarding NIMAC including model contract language, Steps for Coordinating with NIMAC and an IDEA Part B Assurances Application please see: http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/persprep/NIMAS.pdf.
Students may be required to pay for lost books or for excessive damage to books.
Textbooks for Resident Students Attending Private Schools
Resident students attending private schools will be supplied non-sectarian textbooks in accordance with the requirements of Education Law.
Workbooks
The term “workbook” shall refer to the type of book that provides spaces to write in and is consumed each year. It is usually paper-covered and designed to be used in connection with a textbook. The Board of Education shall approve the expenditure of funds for the purchase of workbooks and manuals.
Calculators
The District can require students to provide their own “supplies” (defined as something which is consumed in use, loses its appearance and shape in use, expendable, and inexpensive). Examples include pencils, pens, paper, etc. Calculators do not fall into this category and must be considered like classroom teaching materials and workbooks for which the District is authorized to levy a tax. In addition, the District may purchase, and must still provide, calculators even if operating under a contingent budget if the calculators are required for participation in an educational program.
The New York State Education Department requires the use of calculators for intermediate and high school level mathematics and science assessments. To the extent that calculators are a necessary part of the educational program, the District must provide them. Under no circumstances should students be charged for a calculator or otherwise required to purchase one in order to participate in an educational program of the District.
Instructional Computer Hardware
Loan to Students Attending Nonpublic Schools in the District
The School District shall loan, upon request of an individual or a group of individual students, to all students legally attending nonpublic elementary or secondary schools located in the School District, instructional computer hardware which is designated for use in any public elementary or secondary schools of the State or is approved by any school authorities as such term is defined in Education Law Section 2(12).
Such instructional computer hardware is to be loaned free to such children, subject to such rules and regulations as are or may be prescribed by the Board of Regents and school authorities and shall be required for use as a learning aid in a particular class or program. Instructional computer hardware containing computer software programs which are religious in nature or content shall not be purchased or loaned by the School District.
The School District shall not be required to loan instructional computer hardware to nonpublic school students in excess of that acquired pursuant to Education Law Section 753 and shall be loaned on an equitable basis to children attending nonpublic schools in the District and to students with disabilities residing in the District who attend programs under the provisions of Education Law Sections 4401(2)(c),(2)(e),(2)(g),(2)(i), and (2)(l). However, the School District shall not be required to loan instructional computer hardware purchased with local or federal funds or with State funds, other than Instructional Computer Hardware Aid funds.
School authorities shall specify a date by which written requests for the purchase and loan of instructional computer hardware must be received by the District. Such date shall not be earlier than the first day of June of the school year prior to that for which such instructional computer hardware is being requested. For a child not attending a nonpublic school prior to June first, the parent/guardian may submit a written request for instructional computer hardware within thirty (30) days after such child is enrolled in the nonpublic school. In no event, however, shall a request made later than the times otherwise provided pursuant to Education Law Section 754 be denied where a reasonable explanation is given for the delay in making the request. All nonpublic schools in the School District shall be notified of the specified date.
The form of request used by a lending District may provide for a guarantee by a parent or guardian for the return of such hardware or, in the case of loss or damage, for payment of the value thereof.
20 USC Section 1474(e)(3)(B)
Education Law Sections 2(12), 701 et seq., 753, 754, 3602(6), 3602(26), 4401(2)(c), 4401(2)(e), 4401(2)(g),
4401(2)(i) and 4401(2)(l)
8 NYCRR Sections 21.3, 100.12, 155.1(a)(4) and 175.25
Adopted July 6, 2021