§ 22.1-241. Contracts with publishers
A. Local school boards shall either enter into written term contracts or issue purchase orders on an as-needed basis with publishers of textbooks approved by the Board for use in the public schools. Such written contracts or purchase orders for textbooks approved by the Board shall be exempt from the Virginia Public Procurement Act (§ 2.2-4300 et seq.).
The contract price shall not exceed the lowest wholesale price at which the book or books involved in the contract are currently bid under contract anywhere in the United States.
If, subsequent to the date of any contract entered into by a local school board, the prices of books named in the contract are reduced or the terms of the contract are made more favorable to purchase anywhere in the United States or a special or other edition of any book named in the contract is sold outside of Virginia at a lower price than contracted in the Commonwealth, the publisher shall grant the same reduction or terms to the local school board and give the local school board the option of using such special or other edition adapted for use in Virginia and at the lowest price at which such special edition is sold elsewhere and the contract shall so state.
B. Contracts and purchase orders with publishers of textbooks approved by the Board shall require the publisher to furnish an electronic file of the textbook in the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS) format that will then be deposited in the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) from which accessible versions of the particular textbook may be produced for students with print disabilities, as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1474. Publishers shall deliver the NIMAS file of the textbook on or before the date of delivery of the regular text version.
C. Every school board shall order directly from the respective publishers the books needed to supply the public schools in the school division. The publishers shall ship the books to the school board. The purchase price of such books shall be paid directly to the publishers by the school board.
D. With the approval of the local school board and the publisher, any private school within the school division that so requests may purchase from the local school board's contract with the publisher. Such private school shall be fully responsible for ordering, purchasing, and receiving shipments of books to be provided from the publisher pursuant to this section. The local school board shall be immune from any civil liability as a result of a private school purchasing from the local school board's contract.
(Code 1950, §§ 22-299, 22-300, 22-301, 22-303; 1977, c. 85; 1980, c. 559; 1995, c. 750; 2008, cc. 430, 615, 663.)
Sections: Previous 22.1-232 22.1-233 22.1-234 22.1-235 22.1-236 22.1-237 22.1-238 22.1-239 22.1-240 22.1-241 22.1-242 22.1-243 22.1-244 22.1-252 22.1-253 NextLast modified: April 16, 2009