Sec. 31.104. DISTRIBUTION AND HANDLING. (a) The board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school may delegate to an employee the authority to requisition, distribute, and manage the inventory of instructional materials in a manner consistent with this chapter and rules adopted under this chapter.
(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may order replacements for instructional materials that have been lost or damaged directly from the publisher of the instructional materials or any source for a printed copy of open-source instructional material.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (g), a student must return all instructional materials to the teacher at the end of the school year or when the student withdraws from school.
(d) Each student, or the student's parent or guardian, is responsible for all instructional materials and technological equipment not returned in an acceptable condition by the student. A student who fails to return in an acceptable condition all instructional materials and technological equipment forfeits the right to free instructional materials and technological equipment until all instructional materials and technological equipment previously issued but not returned in an acceptable condition are paid for by the student, parent, or guardian. As provided by policy of the board of trustees or governing body, a school district or open-enrollment charter school may waive or reduce the payment requirement if the student is from a low-income family. The district or school shall allow the student to use instructional materials and technological equipment at school during each school day. If instructional materials or technological equipment is not returned in an acceptable condition or paid for, the district or school may withhold the student's records. A district or school may not, under this subsection, prevent a student from graduating, participating in a graduation ceremony, or receiving a diploma. The commissioner by rule shall adopt criteria for determining whether instructional materials and technological equipment are returned in an acceptable condition.
(e) The board of trustees of a school district may not require an employee of the district who acts in good faith to pay for instructional materials or technological equipment that is damaged, stolen, misplaced, or not returned. A school district employee may not waive this provision by contract or any other means, except that a district may enter into a written agreement with a school employee whereby the employee assumes financial responsibility for electronic instructional material or technological equipment usage off school property or outside of a school-sponsored event in consideration for the ability of the school employee to use the electronic instructional material or technological equipment for personal business. Such a written agreement shall be separate from the employee's contract of employment, if applicable, and shall clearly inform the employee of the amount of the financial responsibility and advise the employee to consider obtaining appropriate insurance. An employee may not be required to agree to such an agreement as a condition of employment.
(g) At the end of the school year for which open-source instructional material that a school district or open-enrollment charter school does not intend to use for another student is distributed, the printed copy of the open-source instructional material becomes the property of the student to whom it is distributed.
(h) This section does not apply to an electronic copy of open-source instructional material.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 1, eff. May 30, 1995. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 129, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 805, Sec. 6, eff. June 14, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 634, Sec. 1, eff. June 20, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 116 (S.B. 370), Sec. 2, eff. May 17, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 366 (H.B. 1332), Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 679 (H.B. 2488), Sec. 9, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., 1st C.S., Ch. 6 (S.B. 6), Sec. 54, eff. July 19, 2011.
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