S257 - 2026 Appropriations Act. (SL 2026-41)

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Session Year 2024

Overview: Section 7.4 of S.L. 2026-41 (Senate Bill 257), as amended by Section 2.3 of S.L. 2026-42 (House Bill 56), repeals the Textbook Commission and authorizes local boards of education to select and procure instructional materials, including textbooks, in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education. The Department of Public Instruction, in coordination with the Office of State Budget and Management, must dissolve the State Textbook Fund once all funds are expended. In its place, this section creates the Instructional Materials funding allotment within the State Public School Fund for the purchase and maintenance of instructional materials and supplementary materials. Funds allocated for the Instructional Materials funding allotment in fiscal years 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029 do not revert at the end of the fiscal year and will remain available until expended.

Additionally, this section requires local boards of education (local boards) to establish community media advisory committees to investigate challenges to instructional materials and supplementary materials on the basis that the materials are one or more of the following:

  • Obscene.
  • Inappropriate to the age, maturity, or grade level of the students.
  • Except for library books, not aligned with the standard course of study.

These committees must include at least the following:

  • Three principals, including a principal from a high school, a middle school, and an elementary school.
  • Three teachers, including a teacher from a high school, a middle school, and an elementary school.
  • A parent of a student in high school or middle school and a parent of a student in elementary school.
  • Three school library media coordinators, including one from a high school, a middle school, and an elementary school.

Challenges can be brought by a parent of a student enrolled in a school governed by the local board, a teacher employed by the local board, or a resident of the area of assignment for the local board. The community media advisory committee must hold a hearing within two weeks of a challenge. Within two weeks of the hearing, the committee must make a recommendation to the local board on whether the challenge has merit. At the next meeting of the local board following the committee's recommendation, the local board must determine whether the challenge has merit. The final decision on whether a challenge has merit is up to the local board and is not appealable.

Section 7.4 of S.L. 2026-41 became effective July 1, 2026, and applies beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. Section 2.3 of S.L. 2026-42 became effective July 7, 2026.

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