Bill Text: CA SB185 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Instructional materials: digital format.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-08-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 174, Statutes of 2013. [SB185 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB185-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 185 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 174
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 27, 2013
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 27, 2013
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 15, 2013
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 8, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 25, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 15, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Walters
FEBRUARY 6, 2013
An act to amend Section 60061 of, and to add Section 60063.5 to,
the Education Code, relating to instructional materials.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 185, Walters. Instructional materials: digital format.
Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt at
least 5 basic instructional materials in specified subject areas for
use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, for district
boards, as defined. Existing law also requires the governing board of
each school district maintaining one or more high schools to adopt
instructional materials that meet specified criteria for use in the
high schools under its control. Existing law prohibits the state
board from adopting instructional materials until the 2015-16 school
year.
Existing law requires a publisher or manufacturer of instructional
materials to provide to the state, at no cost, computer files or
other electronic versions of each state-adopted literary title and
the right to transcribe, reproduce, modify, and distribute the
material in braille, large print if the publisher does not offer a
large print edition, recordings, American Sign Language videos for
the deaf, or other specialized accessible media exclusively for use
by pupils with visual or other disabilities that prevent use of
standard instructional materials.
This bill would specify that school districts, county offices of
education, or charter schools are not restricted in their ability to
negotiate the price of standards-aligned instructional materials and
supplemental instructional materials in a printed or digital format
if the negotiated price complies with certain requirements. The bill
would require instructional materials that are consistent with
specific requirements of the Pupil Textbook and Instructional
Materials Incentive Program Act to be offered by a publisher or
manufacturer as unbundled elements. The bill also would authorize a
school district to use instructional materials in digital format that
were purchased by the school district to create a districtwide
online digital database for classroom use, as specified.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 60061 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60061. (a) A publisher or manufacturer shall do all of the
following:
(1) Furnish the instructional materials offered by the publisher
at a price in this state that, including all costs of transportation
to that place, does not exceed the lowest price at which the
publisher offers those same instructional materials for adoption or
sale to any other state within, or territory of, the United States.
(2) Automatically reduce the price of those instructional
materials to any governing board to the extent that reductions are
made in another state within, or territory of, the United States.
(3) Provide any instructional materials free of charge in this
state to the same extent as that received by any state or school
district in the United States.
(4) Guarantee that all copies of any instructional materials sold
in this state are at least equal in quality to the copies of those
instructional materials that are sold elsewhere in the United States,
and are kept revised, free from all errors, and up to date as may be
required by the state board.
(5) Not in any way, directly or indirectly, become associated or
connected with any combination in restraint of trade in instructional
materials, or enter into any understanding, agreement, or
combination to control prices or restrict competition in the sale of
instructional materials for use in this state.
(6) Maintain a representative, office, or depository in the State
of California or arrange with an independently owned and operated
depository in the State of California to receive and fill orders for
instructional materials.
(7) Provide to the state, at no cost, computer files or other
electronic versions of each state-adopted literary title and the
right to transcribe, reproduce, modify, and distribute the material
in braille, large print if the publisher does not offer a large print
edition, recordings, American Sign Language videos for the deaf, or
other specialized accessible media exclusively for use by pupils with
visual disabilities or other disabilities that prevent use of
standard instructional materials. Computer files or other electronic
versions of materials adopted shall be provided within 30 days of
request by the state as needed for the purposes described in this
subdivision as follows:
(A) Computer files or other electronic versions of literary titles
shall maintain the structural integrity of the standard
instructional materials, be compatible with commonly used braille
translation and speech synthesis software, and include corrections
and revisions as may be necessary.
(B) Computer files or other electronic versions of nonliterary
titles, including science and mathematics, shall be provided when
technology is available to convert those materials to a format that
maintains the structural integrity of the standard instructional
materials and is compatible with braille translation and speech
synthesis software.
(b) Upon the willful failure of the publisher or manufacturer to
comply with the requirements of this section, the publisher or
manufacturer shall be liable to the governing board in the amount of
three times the total sum that the publisher or manufacturer was paid
in excess of the price required under paragraphs (1), (2), and (5)
of subdivision (a), and in the amount of three times the total value
of the instructional materials and services that the governing board
is entitled to receive free of charge under subdivision (a).
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the
ability of a school district, county office of education, or charter
school within California to negotiate the price of standards-aligned
instructional materials and supplemental instructional materials in
either a printed or digital format if the negotiated price complies
with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a).
SEC. 2. Section 60063.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
60063.5. (a) Instructional materials or supplemental
instructional materials that are consistent with the requirements of
Section 60119 shall be offered by a publisher or manufacturer as
unbundled elements to enable digital materials or printed materials
to be purchased separately from other components.
(b) Without violating any copyright law or contract between a
school district and a publisher or manufacturer, a school district
may use instructional materials in digital format that were purchased
by the school district to create a districtwide online digital
database for classroom use consistent with an online security system
that is mutually agreed on by the publisher and the school district.
