A. Based upon legislative appropriations, the State Board of Education shall determine the textbook allocation to be distributed to each school district in the state. Each year the textbook allocation for each school district shall be calculated and distributed in July and adjusted in December. The initial allocation shall be calculated based on the audited end-of-year average daily attendance of the preceding school year multiplied by Fifty-five Dollars ($55.00). The initial allocation shall be calculated and distributed to each school district in July. The December adjustment shall be calculated by multiplying the audited first nine (9) weeks' average daily attendance for that current school year by Fifty-five Dollars ($55.00) and subtracting from that amount the amount of the initial allocation. The adjustment shall be calculated in December and distributed to each eligible school district no later than January 15. A school district shall receive an adjustment only if the adjustment figure as calculated in this section is greater than zero. The State Department of Education shall retain from the total amount appropriated for textbooks not less than one percent (1%) of the total amount to be used for the purpose of making the adjustments. If the amount appropriated, including the retained amount, is not sufficient to fully fund the adjusted allocation, each school district eligible for an adjustment shall receive a proportionate reduction in funding. Any unused portion of the value of textbooks allowed to a school district shall be cumulative and may be carried over by the school district to subsequent fiscal years, in addition to the allocation it is entitled to receive during that fiscal year.
B. A school district seeking flexibility in the use of state-appropriated funding allocated pursuant to this section for textbooks shall be required to demonstrate to the State Board of Education that the textbooks and instructional materials used by the district for the subject areas being considered in the current textbook adoption cycle are current and appropriate for student learning. Subject to the provisions of subsection E of Section 16-111 of this title, a school district that has received textbook funding flexibility approval from the Board may elect to expend any monies allocated pursuant to this section for textbooks, including any monies carried over as authorized pursuant to subsection A of this section, for any purpose related to the support and maintenance of the school district as determined by the board of education of the school district.
C. All textbooks distributed to a school district that have been destroyed by fire or other hazard shall be replaced by the State Board of Education. The total cost of all additional textbooks delivered to school districts to replace those destroyed by fire or other hazard shall not exceed, for the entire state in any fiscal year, the aggregate sum of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), which sum shall be reserved for that purpose from any appropriation made to carry out the provision of this section for any fiscal year.
Added by Laws 2002, c. 2, § 7, emerg. eff. Feb. 15, 2002. Amended by Laws 2010, c. 457, § 7; Laws 2012, c. 236, § 4, eff. July 1, 2012; Laws 2014, c. 311, § 5, eff. July 1, 2014; Laws 2016, c. 253, § 4, eff. July 1, 2016.