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Educational Improvement and Assistance
Textbooks
General Overview
Each year, instructional materials for a different content area are reviewed and considered for adoption. Publishers are required to submit bids which identify every student title, teacher edition, ancillary and free item that will be made available. An exact price must be offered, which will remain in effect for the length of the adoption contract (7 years). Publishers are also required to provide samples of new materials for review by the Department of Education and each member of the State Textbook Adoption Committee.
Prior to submission of new materials for review by the State Textbook Committee, each publisher must attend an orientation session where Louisiana’s Grade Level Expectations and state testing content are reviewed in detail. Publishers are then required to submit, with their new materials, detailed correlations to the state’s content standards for that subject area. Publishers that do not provide the required correlations are disqualified.
The State Textbook Committee is comprised of parents, teachers, and other educators who have been nominated by local school superintendents, SBESE members, and members of the Nonpublic School Commission. The committee also attends an orientation session where content standards and state testing content are reviewed in detail. The committee is instructed to review all student and teacher editions in light of the state content standards by following the correlations provided by publishers and checking them for accuracy and adequacy.
The State Textbook Committee members conduct an independent review of all new materials and then convene as a group for their public deliberations. During these deliberations, committee members review and discuss every title, identifying strengths and weaknesses and formulating questions for additional information from publishers when necessary. At the conclusion of its public deliberations, the committee votes on each title and recommends whether it should be included on the state-approved list. The committee also has the option of recommending any title, pending additions, revisions, or stipulations requested of publishers by the committee.
The recommendations of the State Textbook Adoption Committee are forwarded to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (SBESE) for final approval and placement on the state list of approved textbooks/instructional materials.
Up to twenty-two cooperating public display sites are maintained during each adoption cycle. Every student edition that is being considered for adoption is placed at each site for public review and check out. Any interested citizen may review and check out any text and then provide written comments or objections on a form provided by the department. These comments/objections are to be returned to the department by an established deadline for consideration. Any public comments received by the deadline are presented to the State Textbook Adoption Committee for consideration during its public deliberations. These comments are also forwarded to SBESE’s Textbook and Library Media Advisory Council for review and consideration.
Following SBESE’s approval of new titles, a State Textbook Caravan is held. All new materials approved in the specific content areas are presented to teachers and other educators in at least eight sites across the state. Publishers are required to make formal presentations and/or have sample copies available in a display format. All teachers, principals, and central office supervisors are invited to attend one of the caravan sites. The caravan serves as the initial overview and comparison of all new titles available.
Following the State Textbook Caravan, each local school system begins a local review process. This process identifies the titles each school system will adopt and use in the designated content areas. Most local systems currently use a process similar to the state-level process. All requests for samples and/or formal presentations at the local level must be initiated by the local textbook supervisor or the appropriate content area supervisor.
Bulletin 1794―State Textbook Adoption Policy and Procedure Manual
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National Instructional Materials Access Center
President George W. Bush signed into law the new Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) at the end of 2004. This reauthorized legislation will have a positive impact on how and when blind and other print disabled students throughout the country receive their textbooks in the accessible formats they need, including braille and large print.
The National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) located in Louisville, Kentucky, will receive and catalog publishers' electronic files of print instructional materials in a standard format: the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS). The NIMAS was recently developed by experts across the country for this specific purpose. The center will provide these standardized files to those who have been authorized to obtain the files to produce textbooks and other core print instructional materials for blind, visually impaired and print disabled students across the country. The combination of a standard format and a central repository should significantly expedite the time frame in which instructional materials are delivered to students who need them in the classroom.
Search the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC)
Though just beginning during the 2006-07 school year, this link allows you to find out whether the print version of the textbook you wish to purchase is available as a NIMAS source file for authorized conversion houses to use in the production of alternate formats.
The Louisiana Instructional Materials Resource Center
The Louisiana Instructional Resource Materials Center for the Blind is an authorized entity that provides state-approved textbooks in braille and large print for the students who are identified as blind or print-handicapped.
Local school systems must submit medical eye reports for all students they wish to register for borrowing privileges with the LIMC.
Please feel free to contact the LIMC staff with questions regarding products and services offered to or for this population group. For questions about your order, please contact Mr. Sidney Stewart.
Ms. Janet Ford, Director
Louisiana Instructional Materials Center for the Blind
1230 Government St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
225-219-1686
LIMC@lsvi.org
Resources: Alternate Format Providers
The link allows you to explore existing and emerging best practices designed to increase the availability of accessible, alternate format instructional materials in the classroom.
In addition, you find listings of alternate format providers for braille, audio, e-text, and large print.
The link below provides an annotated list of research articles related to accessible instructional materials.
Recent Research on Accessible Materials
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Upcoming and Current Adoptions
Detailed information on upcoming and current adoptions, including the public display of submitted student basals.
Upcoming and Current Adoptions
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Approved Textbooks
Click here for a list of currently approved instructional materials.
Approved Textbooks
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Textbook Caravan
Click here for Caravan details regarding school and district personnel as well as publisher representatives.
Textbook Caravan
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Report Suspected Errors in K-12 Textbooks
To report suspected errors in K-12 textbooks, you may complete this form, which is provided by The Association of American Publishers (AAP). (By clicking here, you will be redirected to the website of The AAP.)
AAP Accuracy E-line - E-line Form, Online
This form is to report suspected errors in K-12 textbooks only.
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Textbooks for Home Study
We suggest that parents of Home Study Programs or In-Home Private School Programs first contact the Textbook Supervisor at the local school district regarding local policies for textbook loans and rentals.
To purchase textbooks, you may contact the School Book Supply of Louisiana. You will need to provide the exact title, publisher, and copyright date of the book that you need.
Telephone: 225-387-2362
Toll Free: 1-800-272-3055
School Book Supply Company of Louisiana is the official state-designated book depository in Louisiana. Click here for the website.
http://www.schoolbook-la.com/
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