SB1549 - 561R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 15-721, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-721. Common schools; course of study; textbooks; approval; selection; library books and materials; definition

A. The governing board shall approve for common schools the course of study, the basic textbook for each course and all units recommended for credit under each general subject title before implementing the course.

B. If any course does not include a basic textbook, the governing board shall approve all supplemental books used in the course before approving the course.

C. If any course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books, the governing board may approve all supplemental books and teaching aids, including instructional computer software, that are used in the course before approving the course.

D. If the course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books that have not been approved by the governing board at the time of approval of the course, a teacher may use the supplemental books at any time during the school year. Use of the supplemental books shall be brought to the attention of the governing board during the school year in which they are added for ratification.

E. Notwithstanding any other law, subsections B and C of this section do not apply to supplemental books used in courses or programs instituted pursuant to article 4 of this chapter.

F. The governing board shall:

1. Enforce the course of study and select all textbooks used in the common schools and purchase the textbooks from the publishers. The governing board may budget and spend district school monies for teaching aids, including instructional computer software. For courses that do not require that each student have a textbook other than for classroom instruction, the school district need only purchase one textbook for each student in the largest group that would be receiving classroom instruction at any one time.

2. Require that all meetings of committees authorized for the purposes of textbook review and selection be open to the public as prescribed in title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1.

3. Make available at the school district office for review by the public, for a period of sixty days prior to formal selection of textbooks, a copy of each textbook that is being considered for selection.

4. Make available on the school district's website for review by the public a list of all books and materials purchased after January 1, 2023 for any of the district's school libraries for a period of at least sixty days after the purchase. Each school operated by the school district shall make available on the school's website for review by the public a list of all books and materials purchased after January 1, 2023 for the school library for a period of at least sixty days after the purchase. This paragraph does not apply to the purchase of a book or material that is intended to replace a lost or damaged book or material.

5. Ensure that each common school that is operated by the school district notifies the parents of each pupil enrolled in the school of the opening and closing dates of the public review required under paragraph 4 of this subsection within seven school days before the opening date.

G. The following are exempt from the requirements of subsection F, paragraphs 4 and 5 of this section:

1. Schools without a full-time library media specialist or an equivalent position.

2. School district libraries that have agreements with county free library districts, municipal libraries or other entities pursuant to section 15-362, subsection D.

H. The governing board may not approve or select any textbook or other instructional material pursuant to this section that contains any matter reflecting adversely on persons on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, nationality, sexual orientation or gender identity.

H. I. For the purposes of this section, "textbook" means printed instructional materials or digital content, or both, and related printed or nonprinted instructional materials, that are written and published primarily for use in school instruction and that are required by a state educational agency or a local education agency for use by pupils in the classroom, including materials that require the availability of electronic equipment in order to be used as a learning resource. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 15-722, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-722. High schools; course of study; textbooks; approval; library books and materials; definition

A. The governing board shall approve for high schools the course of study and all units that are recommended for credit under each general subject title before implementing the course.

B. The governing board shall approve for high schools the basic textbook for each course and may purchase the textbooks from the publishers if approved by the governing board. Before approving any basic textbook for high schools, the governing board shall do all of the following:

1. Provide information on the school district's website, if the school district maintains a website, on the basic textbooks that are proposed for approval.

2. Require that all meetings of committees authorized for the purposes of textbook review and selection be open to the public pursuant to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1.

3. Provide an opportunity for public comment for at least sixty days. Public comment may include written comments, oral comments and comments submitted through email.

4. Make available at the school district office for review by the public, for a period of at least sixty days before approving the textbooks, a copy of each textbook that is being considered for approval.

5. Make available on the school district's website for review by the public a list of all books and materials purchased after January 1, 2023 for any of the district's school libraries for a period of at least sixty days after the purchase. Each school operated by the school district shall make available on the school's website for review by the public a list of all books and materials purchased after January 1, 2023 for the school library for a period of at least sixty days after the purchase. This paragraph does not apply to the purchase of a book or material that is intended to replace a lost or damaged book or material.

6. Ensure that each high school that is operated by the school district notifies the parents of each pupil enrolled in the school of the opening and closing dates of the public review required under paragraph 5 of this subsection within seven school days before the opening date.

C. The following are exempt from the requirements of subsection B, paragraphs 5 and 6 of this section:

1. Schools without a full-time library media specialist or an equivalent position.

2. School district libraries that have agreements with county free library districts, municipal libraries or other entities pursuant to section 15-362, subsection D.

D. If any course does not include a basic textbook, the governing board shall approve all supplemental books that are used in the course before usage.

E. If any course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books or instructional computer software, the governing board may approve all supplemental books and instructional computer software that are used in the course before usage.

F. If the course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books that have not been approved by the governing board at the time of approval of the course, a teacher may use the supplemental books at any time during the school year. Use of the supplemental books shall be brought to the attention of the governing board during the school year in which they are added for ratification.

G. The governing board shall prescribe up to five textbooks for each course, and the teacher, with the consent of the governing board, may use any one of the prescribed textbooks for the purposes of the teacher's course.

H. The governing board may not approve or prescribe any textbook or other instructional material pursuant to this section that contains any matter reflecting adversely on persons on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, nationality, sexual orientation or gender identity.