GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1436

Short Title:  Textbook Commission Changes/Funds.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representative Boyd-McIntyre.

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Referred to:  Education, if favorable, Appropriations.

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April 29, 1999

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO EXPAND THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE NORTH CAROLINA TEXTBOOK COMMISSION AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THAT PURPOSE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 115C-87 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C-87. Appointment of Textbook Commission.
Shortly after assuming office, the Governor shall appoint a Textbook Commission of 22 members who shall hold office for four years, or until their successors are appointed and qualified. The members of the Commission shall be appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the Superintendent. Nine of these members shall be teachers or principals in grades K-5; six shall be teachers or principals in grades 6-8; seven shall be superintendents, teachers, or principals in grades 9-12; five shall be parents of students in grades K-5 at the time of appointment; four shall be parents of students in grades 6-8 at the time of appointment; and three shall be parents of students in grades 9-12 at the time of appointment. The Governor shall fill all vacancies by appointment for the unexpired term. The Commission shall elect a chairman, subject to the approval of the Superintendent. The Commission shall meet four times a year or at the call of the chair. The members shall be entitled to compensation for each day spent on the work of the Commission as approved by the Board and to reimbursement for travel and subsistence expense incurred in the performance of their duties at the rates specified in G.S. 138-5(a). Compensation shall be paid from funds available to the State Board of Education."
Section 2.  G.S. 115C-88 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C-88.  Commission to evaluate textbooks offered for adoption.
(a)	The members of the Commission who are teachers, principals, or parents of students shall evaluate all textbooks offered for adoption.  Each proposed textbook shall be read by at least one expert in the discipline for which the textbook would be used.  The Commission may use experts on any respective discipline for which no commission member qualifies as an expert.
(b)	Each member shall examine carefully and file a written evaluation of each textbook offered for adoption. The Commission may consider external reviews of any book being considered for adoption, but not as a substitute for direct examination.
The evaluation report shall give special consideration to the suitability of the textbook to the instructional level for which it is offered, the content or subject matter, and other criteria prescribed by the Board.
Each evaluation report shall be signed by the member making the report and filed with the Board not later than a day fixed by the Board when the call for adoption is made."
Section 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the State Board of Education the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for the 1999-2000 fiscal year to expand the membership and expertise of the North Carolina Textbook Commission.
Section 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1999.