In January 2001, the Idaho State Board of Education approved two hundred twenty-one (221) new titles in the areas of reading, literature and driver's education. Thirty-four (34) submissions were approved in computer applications. In addition, the first year of the two-year interim adoption clause accommodated the submission and approval of twenty (20) new titles in the areas of science, health and handwriting. The second year of the two-year interim adoption clause saw sixty-eight (68) new titles approved in the areas of mathematics and professional-technical education.

The 2001 Adoption Guide is posted online at www.sde.state.id.us/instruct/index.htm.

In accordance to Idaho Code 33-118 which states that "the board shall require all publishers of textbooks approved for use to furnish the department of education with electronic format for literary and nonliterary subjects when electronic formats become available for nonliterary subjects, in a standard format approved by the board, from which reproductions can be made for use by the blind," the 2001 Idaho Curricular Materials Adoption Agreement added the following contractual item.

The Publishing Company shall:

The current adoption cycle in Idaho calls for materials in K-12 English (composition/ grammar), Spelling, Communications (speech/ journalism), and Humanities (foreign languages/ art/ drama/ music/ interdisciplinary). The Interim adoption cycle also allows for reading/ literature, drivers education, science, health, and handwriting. The state continues to accept computer application software annually.

In order to align the selection of all curricular materials in the humanities, music adoption was advanced one year. Existing contracts for curricular materials in music will continue until their 2002 expiration.

Publishers/vendors are required to provide samples to the nineteen-member Idaho Curricular Materials Selection Committee. All samples must now be delivered by June 1, a change from the previous September 15 deadline.

Section 33-118, Idaho Code, states in part that the State Board of Education (SBOE) shall determine how and under what regulations textbooks shall be adopted for the public schools.

The State Curricular Materials Selection Committee in cooperation with the State Department of Education is charged with the responsibility of screening, evaluating, and recommending curricular materials for adoption to the State Board of Education. Listed below is the adoption schedule which is based on a calendar year rather than the school year.

Due to the success of the first Idaho Curricular Materials Expos in spring 2000, publishers will be traveling to five locations throughout Idaho in March 2001. The Expos provide teachers, curriculum directors, administrators and school patrons the opportunity to view the state's newly adopted curricular materials. Designed to maximize the school personnel's understanding and exposure to the new products, in addition to displays in the exhibit hall, many publishers will make in-depth presentations of their materials in breakout sessions.

Publishers are now required to correlate their materials to the Idaho Achievement Standards, a practice that is useful to schools in selecting the best curricular materials for supporting their individual curriculum.

The standards can be viewed at www.sde.state.id.us/osbe/exstand.htm.

In Indiana we are finishing our elementary reading and handwriting adoption. Most schools will make their selections by July 1. It has been a smooth adoption with some schools deciding to wait to make their final reading textbook selection until they see the new English and Spelling books in this year’s adoption.

Our next adoption is in the areas of English-grades 1-12, Spelling-grades 1-6, Literature-grades 6-12, and Foreign Language-Spanish, French, German, and Latin. Bids are due June 25, 2001, and the State Board of Education will make the final adoption of the new textbooks on October 4, 2001.

In July, the Department of Education will be moving to a new location. The new building will give us more overall space, but less openness as there will be fewer windows and about 200 of us will be housed on one floor. The rest will be in the basement or on a small balcony area. It will be a good time to clean up, but I am not looking forward to losing my window.

We are still a textbook rental state. This means the parents pay a rental fee each year for their childrens’ textbooks and other instructional materials. There were several bills introduced in the General Assembly this year but none passed out of committee. The state does reimburse the school for the fees for children on free or reduced lunch.

There are no changes in the current adoption process and we are looking forward toward a routine Language Arts and Foreign Language adoption.

South Carolina has 86 school district serving 660,000+ students. The General Assembly in South Carolina appropriates funds for instructional materials to the State Department of Education based on one textbook per student in a subject area. The State Department of Education allocates textbooks and other instructional materials based on enrollment and program of instruction offered by the state's 1100+ schools. Local school boards and district superintendents determine the program of instruction offered and the materials used by the local schools.

The R. L. Bryan Company serves as the textbook depository for South Carolina. The South Carolina Central Depository operates an online textbook ordering system for South Carolina schools at www.sctextbooks.com.

The State Department of Education is requesting $71,544,086 to purchase instructional materials for the 2001-2002 School Year in the areas of Science K-8, Literature/Vocabulary 9-12,  Art K-12, Speech, Foreign Languages K-12, Business Computer Applications and other vocational areas. This request represents an increase of $32,575,699 over 2000-2001 School Year funding.

Funding for Science will include a science textbook for each pupil (except K) and a selection of activities kits funded on a per teacher basis. Four teachers will share four different kits in grades K-3. In grades 5-6, four teachers will share six different kits. Teachers in grades 6-8 will be provided $2,000 per thirty pupils to purchase activity kits and other science materials.

Sharing kits will require refurbishment of consumable items before the kit is used by the next teacher. The State Department of Education has requested the General Assembly to authorize the use of State Appropriations to reimburse school districts for the reasonable costs associated with kit refurbishment.

Funding for other subject areas under the state's free textbook program is based on (1) class or course enrollment, (2) the school/district curriculum, and (3) the principle, one textbook per child in a subject area.

Instructional Materials Caravan

The South Carolina Department of Education in cooperation with the South Carolina Publishers' Association conducted an Instructional Materials Caravan to showcase the 2000 adoptions.  Eighty-one of the eighty-six school districts and twenty-five publishers participated in the first South Carolina caravan.  The caravan was held at ten regional sites and attracted more than 2,700 school and district participants.

2001 Adoption

On December 13, 2000, the South Carolina State Board of Education approved the subject areas for the 2001 instructional materials adoption cycle. Through its Administrative Officer, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board will receive, sealed bids for instructional materials and textbooks on or before 12 o'clock noon, March 13, 2001. The official Call for Bids is enclosed along with the Calendar of Events, evaluation brief information, and Request for Bid Packet. Please review the Call for Bids (see below) for adoption areas, additional deadlines, and requirements for publishers and vendors.

Instructional Materials Review Panels will evaluate materials bid by publishers based on criteria contained in the South Carolina curriculum standards and/or occupational program competencies. Participating publishers/vendors must submit written correlations to the standards and/or competencies to the appropriate Review Panel members and the South Carolina Department of Education along with the samples of bid materials and evaluation briefs. The deadline for providing materials and information to the Review Panels and the Department is May 25, 2001.

Publishers/vendors may request sealed bid forms and copies of standards and competencies on the enclosed Request for Bid Packet.  Contact Mrs. Vauline Johnson, Instructional Materials Section, Office of Finance (803-737-3944), or Mrs. Kriss Stewart in the Division of Curriculum Services and Assessment (803-734-8393) if you have questions or need additional information.  Information concerning Curriculum Frameworks and grade level standards are available at the SC Department of Education Homepage at
www.state.sc.us/sde/educator/crindex.htm
or by email kstewart@sde.state.sc.us or vjohnson@sde.state.sc.us.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

The State Board of Education of South Carolina hereby gives notice that it or its duly appointed committee will meet in the City of Columbia at 12 o'clock noon, March 13, 2001, to open bids for instructional materials/textbooks to be used in the free public schools of this State, for which the said Board may lawfully prescribe and adopt instructional materials/textbooks. The use of adopted materials shall begin June 1, 2002. In order to provide a parallel and/or functional curriculum for children with disabilities, the areas opened are expanded to include appropriate instructional materials for these students. Bids for instructional materials will be received for the following subject areas.

The State Board of Education shall receive, through its Administrative Officer, the State Superintendent of Education, sealed bids on or before 12 o'clock noon, March 13, 2001. Bids will be opened in Room 310 at the South Carolina Department of Education.

• Sealed Bid

Sealed bid forms must be submitted in duplicate and marked Official Instructional Materials/Textbooks Bid. Diskettes containing the identical information as shown on the Sealed Bid Forms must be included with the seal bid. Format diskettes in Access, Excel, Microsoft Word, or Fixed ASCII.

A completed bid affidavit must accompany all bids and will be made part of any contract that may result from this bid. Bid affidavit and Sealed Bid Forms are part of the Bid Packet that may be ordered by using the enclosed request form.

• Ancillary Materials and Services Bid List

The Ancillary Materials and Services Bid List must be completed and accompany the sealed bid as it will become a part of the contract for any instructional materials/textbooks adopted. Even if there are no plans to offer any material(s) or service(s) on a complimentary basis, please indicate this on the form and return it with the bid. Amendments to this list will not be considered from the time bids are opened on March 13, 2001, until June 1, 2002. Note: For materials bid as parallel and/or functional curriculum for children with disabilities, ancillary materials should be provided per classroom and not on a per pupil ratio.

• "Good Faith Deposit"

Each bid shall include a "good faith deposit" in the form of a certified check or cashier's check made payable to the South Carolina Department of Education in the amount of $500.00 for each book/instructional material or series of books/instructional materials. A "good faith deposit" cannot exceed in the aggregate of $5,000.00 from any particular publisher or vendor. Checks shall be deposited by the State Superintendent with the State Treasurer. In the event that any publisher or vendor submitting a bid neglects, refuses, or omits to execute its contract within 30 days after the contract is written and mailed to the publisher, this "good faith deposit" shall be forfeited to the State of South Carolina. Upon completion of the adoption process, the "good faith deposit" shall be returned to each publisher or vendor.

The following materials and information must be submitted to the appropriate Instructional Materials Review Panels and the South Carolina Department of Education on or before May 25, 2001. All samples and information mailed to the Department and Review Panels must be clearly labeled "Official Instructional Materials Samples" and marked with the appropriate subject area.

• Correlations

Materials bid will be reviewed based on criteria contained in the South Carolina grade level standards and/or Occupational Program Competencies. Publishers/vendors are required to correlate instructional materials bid to the standards and competencies. (Deadline: May 25, 2001)

• Manufacturing Specification (Form B and Form M)

All books and electronic media (compact disc, CD/ROM, videocassette, etc.) offered for adoption shall be manufactured in accordance with, or in excess of, the official Manufacturing Standards and Specifications for Textbooks established by the Advisory Commission on Textbook Specifications (ACTS), as revised and amended. Provided, however, the State Board of Education reserves the right to waive deviations and technicalities from the specifications.

With the official Department of Education samples, the publisher shall submit a statement (Form M) for each electronic media item bid and affix a statement (Form B) to each hardbound pupil edition. Publishers should indicate on the appropriate form if the sample does, or does not, meet the terms of the standards, and state whether the materials to be supplied will conform to the standards.

• Official Department of Education Samples

Publishers/vendors are required to provide samples to the Department consisting of one copy of each title bid (Form B inserted in each hardbound pupil edition and Form M submitted with each electronic media material), each ancillary item bid, correlations, and the evaluation brief for each program. Deliver official samples to the 12th Floor at the State Department of Education, 1429 Senate Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201. (Deadline: May 25, 2001)

• Official Review Panel Samples

Appropriate Instructional Materials Review Panels shall receive official samples consisting of one copy of the instructional materials/textbooks offered, each ancillary item bid, correlations, and related evaluation briefs. The shipping addresses for the Review Panels will be mailed to publishers/vendors on April 27, 2001. (Deadline: May 25, 2001)

• Materials in Manuscript Format

Materials may be bid in manuscript format and adoption will be subject to approval after the material is completed and printed. Samples in manuscript format shall be submitted according to the above instructions for official Department and Review Panel samples. (Deadline: May 25, 2001)

• Disposition of Instructional Material Samples

Sample copies of instructional materials/textbooks and supplementary materials furnished to members of Instructional Material Review Panels shall remain in the possession of Panel members until the adoption process has been completed. State Board of Education action on recommendations from the Panels will be considered as the completion of the adoption cycle in a given year. Publishers must retrieve samples at their own expense and provide shipping instructions to Review Panel members. The publisher/vendor shall notify the State Department of Education of its intent to reclaim or not to reclaim samples when bids are submitted.

A thirty-day public review of recommended materials will be held from October 10 to November 9, 2001. Information on the location of the public review sites will be mailed to publishers/vendors in September. A copy of the student editions for each grade level of the recommended programs must be mailed to all review sites. For recommended classroom kits and technology materials, publishers/vendors may send the student program or sufficient material (may include videotape summaries) to provide citizens with a thorough overview of the program. Panel recommendations for instructional materials and comments from the public review will be submitted for State Board of Education approval on December 12, 2001.

The publisher’s contract for adopted materials gives the South Carolina Department of Education the right to transcribe or have transcribed any and all instructional materials covered by the contract into Braille for South Carolina students. This right is given at no extra cost to the State. To facilitate the transcription into Braille, upon request by the Department, the publisher will furnish any and all materials, covered by the contract, to the Department by electronic means.

All bidders or publishers who plan to submit instructional materials/textbooks for adoption in South Carolina must register with the State Department of Education, Office of Finance, Instructional Materials Section, on or before March 13, 2001. Registration information shall include the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all agents, employees, or persons retained for legal or other services to whom there is being paid any salary, commission, or royalty for representing the bidder or publisher in the State of South Carolina for the 2001 adoption cycle. The failure to comply with this provision shall be deemed sufficient cause for rejection of the bid of such bidder or publisher. (Previously registered publishers/vendors must register for the new adoption cycle.)

The State Board of Education retains the right to reject any bid in whole or part and waive all technicalities. The State Board of Education, at its option, may terminate the contract in compliance with State law and State Board Regulations. The State Board may terminate the contract for a subject area should the area be opened for adoption before the end of the six-year contract.

Upon request, the Bid Packet for the South Carolina 2001 adoption cycle will be furnished by the State Department of Education, Instructional Materials Section in the Office of Finance. The form to request Bid Packets is enclosed.

Date:                           

The forms included in the Bid Packet may be duplicated as needed. Please mail or fax (803-734-8437) this form to the attention of Vauline Johnson, South Carolina Department of Education, Office of Finance, Instructional Materials Section, Room 302-C, 1429 Senate Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201 (Phone 803-737-3944).

Our local systems are in the process of making adoptions for reading. For the second time, our reviews of listed programs were made available to local adoption committees on the web this year. Based on comments from local supervisors of education, we were able to get the word down to the classroom level in a better manner this year. We sent notification of the web address to list serves for principals and supervisors as well as textbook adoption coordinators. This year’s contracts will again be backed by performance bonds ranging from $50,000 to $1,000,000; which we expect to be a significant incentive for publishers to produce and deliver sufficient product to meet our students’ needs in a timely manner.

We issued the preliminary Invitation to Bid for social studies in November. On January 12, official bid packages were mailed to all the publishers filing an intent to bid. A total of twelve publishers had filed bids for one or more of the various categories by the March 1, 2000 deadline. This is the second year we have operated under this revised schedule, which allows publishers over six weeks to prepare our bid and will provide our office more than two additional months to process those bids and to plan the review process on actual bids. The Tennessee curriculum framework for social studies continues to be under development. Further details on the calendar for the framework will be provided at our March 13-14 State Textbook Commission meeting. We expect the Commission to require publishers to file data describing the specific contributions of the various authors listed on the bid or appearing on the cover or title page of the books bid this year. We also expect to require a listing of the documents against which facts are verified. We are currently receiving applications from teachers interested in reviewing materials for our State Textbook Commission.

For the 2000 fiscal year, Tennessee school boards spent in the neighborhood of $47.5million for adopted textbooks for approximately 900,000 students, or approximately $52.75 per student in average daily membership. This is an increase of approximately $6.5 million over fiscal year 1999, but it included just over $5 million in “early” orders for section VI titles for the 2000-01 school year. Sales for the fall of 2000 were also higher than expected.