Texas 2009 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2488 Engrossed / Bill

Filed 02/01/2025

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                    By: Hochberg H.B. No. 2488


 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT
 relating to open-source textbooks for public schools.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 SECTION 1. Section 31.002, Education Code, is amended by
 amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as
 follows:
 (1) "Electronic textbook" means computer software,
 interactive videodisc, magnetic media, CD-ROM, computer
 courseware, on-line services, an electronic medium, or other means
 of conveying information to the student or otherwise contributing
 to the learning process through electronic means, including an
 open-source textbook.
 (1-a) "Open-source textbook" means an electronic
 textbook that is available for downloading from the Internet at no
 charge to a student and without requiring the purchase of an unlock
 code, membership, or other access or use charge, except for a charge
 to order an optional printed copy of all or part of the textbook.
 SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 31, Education Code, is
 amended by adding Section 31.0241 to read as follows:
 Sec. 31.0241.  ADOPTION OF OPEN-SOURCE TEXTBOOKS. (a) In
 this section, "eligible institution" means:
 (1)  a public, private, or independent college or
 university located in this state that spends at least $75 million
 per year on research that may be reported under Section 61.051(h);
 or
 (2)  a public technical institute, as defined by
 Section 61.003.
 (b)  The State Board of Education shall place an open-source
 textbook for a secondary-level course submitted for adoption by an
 eligible institution on a conforming or nonconforming list if:
 (1)  the textbook is written, compiled, or edited
 primarily by faculty of the eligible institution who specialize in
 the subject area of the textbook;
 (2)  the eligible institution identifies each
 contributing author;
 (3)  the appropriate department of the eligible
 institution certifies the textbook for accuracy; and
 (4)  the eligible institution determines that the
 textbook qualifies for placement on the conforming or nonconforming
 list based on the extent to which the textbook covers the essential
 knowledge and skills identified under Section 28.002 for the
 subject for which the textbook is written and certifies that:
 (A)  for a textbook for a senior-level course, a
 student who successfully completes a course based on the textbook
 will be prepared, without remediation, for entry into the eligible
 institution's freshman-level course in that subject; or
 (B)  for a textbook for a junior-level and
 senior-level course, a student who successfully completes the
 junior-level course based on the textbook will be prepared for
 entry into the senior-level course.
 (c)  This section does not prohibit an eligible institution
 from submitting a textbook for placement on a conforming or
 nonconforming list through any other adoption process provided by
 this chapter.
 SECTION 3. Section 31.026, Education Code, is amended by
 adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
 (e) This section does not apply to an open-source textbook.
 SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 31, Education Code, is
 amended by adding Section 31.0261 to read as follows:
 Sec. 31.0261.  CONTRACTS FOR PRINTING OF OPEN-SOURCE
 TEXTBOOKS. The State Board of Education may execute a contract for
 the printing of an open-source textbook listed on the conforming or
 nonconforming list. The contract must allow a school district to
 requisition printed copies of an open-source textbook as provided
 by Section 31.103.
 SECTION 5. Section 31.027, Education Code, is amended by
 adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
 (d) This section does not apply to an open-source textbook.
 SECTION 6. Section 31.103, Education Code, is amended by
 adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
 (d)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school
 that selects an open-source textbook shall requisition a sufficient
 number of printed copies for use by students unable to access the
 textbook electronically unless the district or school provides to
 each student:
 (1)  electronic access to the textbook at no cost to the
 student; or
 (2)  printed copies of the portion of the textbook that
 will be used in the course.
 SECTION 7. Section 31.104, Education Code, is amended by
 amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (g) and (h)
 to read as follows:
 (b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
 order replacements for textbooks that have been lost or damaged
 directly from:
 (1) the textbook depository; [or]
 (2) the textbook publisher or manufacturer if the
 textbook publisher or manufacturer does not have a designated
 textbook depository in this state under Section 31.151(a)(6)(B); or
 (3)  any source for a printed copy of an open-source
 textbook.
 (c) Each textbook must state that the textbook is the
 property of or is licensed to this state, as appropriate. Each
 textbook, other than an electronic textbook or a printed copy of an
 open-source textbook, must be covered by the student under the
 direction of the teacher. Except as provided by Subsection (g), a
 [A] student must return all textbooks to the teacher at the end of
 the school year or when the student withdraws from school.
 (g)  At the end of the school year for which an open-source
 textbook that a school district or open-enrollment charter school
 does not intend to use for another student is distributed, the
 printed copy of the open-source textbook becomes the property of
 the student to whom it is distributed.
 (h)  This section does not apply to an electronic copy of an
 open-source textbook.
 SECTION 8. Section 31.151(a), Education Code, is amended to
 read as follows:
 (a) A publisher or manufacturer of textbooks:
 (1) shall furnish any textbook the publisher or
 manufacturer offers in this state, at a price that does not exceed
 the lowest price at which the publisher offers that textbook for
 adoption or sale to any state, public school, or school district in
 the United States;
 (2) shall automatically reduce the price of a textbook
 sold for use in a school district or open-enrollment charter school
 to the extent that the price is reduced elsewhere in the United
 States;
 (3) shall provide any textbook or ancillary item free
 of charge in this state to the same extent that the publisher or
 manufacturer provides the textbook or ancillary item free of charge
 to any state, public school, or school district in the United
 States;
 (4) shall guarantee that each copy of a textbook sold
 in this state is at least equal in quality to copies of that
 textbook sold elsewhere in the United States and is free from
 factual error;
 (5) may not become associated or connected with,
 directly or indirectly, any combination in restraint of trade in
 textbooks or enter into any understanding or combination to control
 prices or restrict competition in the sale of textbooks for use in
 this state;
 (6) shall:
 (A) maintain a depository in this state or
 arrange with a depository in this state to receive and fill orders
 for textbooks, other than open-source textbooks, on-line
 textbooks, or on-line textbook components, consistent with State
 Board of Education rules; or
 (B) deliver textbooks to a school district or
 open-enrollment charter school without a delivery charge to the
 school district, open-enrollment charter school, or state, if:
 (i) the publisher or manufacturer does not
 maintain or arrange with a depository in this state under Paragraph
 (A) and the publisher's or manufacturer's textbooks and related
 products are warehoused or otherwise stored less than 300 miles
 from a border of this state; or
 (ii) the textbooks are open-source
 textbooks, on-line textbooks, or on-line textbook components;
 (7) shall, at the time an order for textbooks is
 acknowledged, provide to school districts or open-enrollment
 charter schools an accurate shipping date for textbooks that are
 back-ordered;
 (8) shall guarantee delivery of textbooks at least 10
 business days before the opening day of school of the year for which
 the textbooks are ordered if the textbooks are ordered by a date
 specified in the sales contract; and
 (9) shall submit to the State Board of Education an
 affidavit certifying any textbook the publisher or manufacturer
 offers in this state to be free of factual errors at the time the
 publisher executes the contract required by Section 31.026.
 SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.