Section 156.405 - State Textbook Commission - Textbook reviewers(1) The purpose of the State Textbook Commission is to provide a recommended list of current and high quality textbooks and instructional materials to local school districts that complement the educational program in Kentucky schools; to provide a consumer guide to schools to aid with the selection of materials; and to provide for public participation in the evaluation process.(2) The State Textbook Commission shall consist of the chief state school officer and ten (10) appointive members. The ten (10) members shall be appointed by the Kentucky Board of Education upon the recommendation of the chief state school officer for terms of four (4) years with two (2) appointments each year, except that every fourth year there shall be four (4) appointments. No member shall be eligible to serve more than two (2) full terms consecutively. All vacancies that occur on the State Textbook Commission shall be filled in like manner for the remainder of the unexpired terms. The Department of Education and the State Textbook Commission shall receive assistance in the textbook evaluation process from professionals and lay citizens who will be referred to in this chapter as the "textbook reviewers."(3) The State Textbook Commission shall:(a) Select and direct the activities of the textbook reviewers who develop selection criteria and review textbooks and programs;(b) Develop selection criteria and evaluation forms with the help of the textbook reviewers and Kentucky Department of Education staff to be used in the state level review process;(c) Approve the evaluative criteria and forms used by the commission and textbook reviewers;(d) Review the textbook reviewers' evaluations, and textbooks or programs as it deems necessary, in order to select from them a recommended list of high quality materials;(e) Provide notice of and the opportunity for public inspection of textbooks and programs offered for adoption and use in the public schools;(f) Conduct a public hearing for the purpose of receiving public comment concerning textbooks and programs under consideration;(g) Select, recommend, and publish a list of high quality textbooks and programs; and(h) Publish a consumer guide and distribute it to Kentucky public schools.(4) The textbook reviewers shall be comprised of twelve (12) individuals for the area or areas being considered for adoption. The textbook reviewers shall be approved by the State Textbook Commission based on the recommendation of the chief state school officer.(5) The textbook reviewers shall: (a) Develop and submit to the commission subject specific evaluative criteria to be used in reviewing textbooks and programs;(b) Review textbooks and programs to determine those of high quality, using evaluative criteria and forms approved by the commission;(c) Submit to the commission reviews and evaluative forms regarding reviewed textbooks and programs;(d) Attend meetings and training sessions as requested by the commission and the Department of Education; and(e) Ensure that textbooks are free from factual error.(6)(a)1. Eight (8) of the appointive members of the State Textbook Commission shall have had not less than five (5) years teaching or supervising experience in the public schools of Kentucky and shall have had at the time of their appointment at least four (4) years of college training in a recognized institution of higher education.2. Five (5) members of the commission shall be classroom teachers actively employed in the public schools of Kentucky as teachers in subject field or fields for which the commission will select books.3. Two (2) members shall be principals, supervisors, or superintendents of public schools or public school systems.4. One (1) member shall be a member of the faculty of a public institution of higher education engaged in teacher preparation.5. Two (2) members shall be lay citizens, one (1) of whom shall have a child enrolled in a public school at the time of appointment.(b) In recommending the members of the State Textbook Commission the chief state school officer shall give due regard to representation from rural and urban areas and from the elementary, middle, and high school levels when the educational levels are included in the subject field or fields for which adoptions are to be made.(7) Textbook reviewers shall have the following qualifications: Six (6) of the textbook reviewers shall be instructional supervisors and classroom teachers in various and appropriate grade levels primary through grade twelve (12), with experience and training in the subject areas to be reviewed. One (1) reviewer shall have expertise and training in learning theory as applied to the classroom situation. One (1) reviewer shall be a current or former university faculty member with expertise in the content area of the textbooks to be reviewed. One (1) reviewer shall have experience and training in readability and formatting of textbooks. Three (3) reviewers shall be parents, two (2) of whom shall have a child currently enrolled in public schools in Kentucky.(8) Members of the State Textbook Commission shall receive fifty ($50) dollars per day and reimbursement for their actual expenses while attending commission meetings. Textbook reviewers shall receive remuneration based on the amount of textbooks and programs to be reviewed and criteria to be developed as determined by the chief state school officer. Textbook reviewers shall be paid one hundred dollars ($100) per day, not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) annually. Textbook reviewers shall also receive reimbursement for actual expenses while attending reviewer or commission meetings.(9) The meetings of the State Textbook Commission shall be open to the public and shall be held at least once every quarter and notice of such meeting shall be given in accordance with KRS 424.110 to 424.210.(10) Not later than May 1 each year the chief state school officer shall call the State Textbook Commission into session. The members of the State Textbook Commission shall elect one (1) of its voting members as chairman and shall adopt administrative regulations for the procedure of the commission. The chief state school officer shall be the secretary of the commission.Effective:7/14/2000
Amended 2000, Ky. Acts ch. 419, sec. 2, effective7/14/2000. -- Amended 1996, Ky. Acts ch. 362, sec. 6, effective 7/15/1996. -- Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 266, sec. 8, effective 7/14/1992. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 476, Pt. IV, sec. 146, effective 7/13/1990. -- Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 138, sec. 2, effective 7/15/1988. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 154, sec. 2, effective 7/15/1982. --Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 155, sec. 82, effective 6/17/1978. -- Amended 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 74, sec. 6, effective 3/29/1976. -- Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 71, sec. 2, effective 3/13/1974. -- Created 1952 Ky. Acts ch. 184, sec. 2.