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.
HISTORY: 1989 Act No. 194, Section 11; 1997 Act No. 140, Section 6.