FISCAL NOTE

Senate Bill 15 as passed the Senate allows the State Textbook Committee to meet up to an additional ten days during a school year which could increase the obligations of State Department of Education by an estimated maximum of $37,000 annually, if the Committee meets for the additional days. This bill requires the SDE to make final ratings and reviews available on the Department’s website which could increase the administrative obligations of the Department by an undetermined amount. 

Further, this bill could increase the financial obligations of the State Department of Education, to reimburse experts and members of instructional materials review committees, established by the State Superintendent of Education to review and rate the quality and alignment of instructional materials, for per diem and travel expenses from funds appropriated to the Department. The amount of the increased obligation is undetermined, but would be dependent upon: (1) the number of committees convened; (2) the number of members on each committee, and (3) the number of days that each committee meets.

Further, this bill could increase the obligations of the State Board of Education, subject to appropriations from the Legislature, by allowing the Board to pay a portion of a negotiated textbook price or grant additional funds to local boards who purchase high quality textbooks, as determined by the State Board of Education.

In addition, this bill exempts local boards of education purchasing certain instructional materials, including electronic versions, from the competitive bidding process for purchases from a current vetted and approved list published by the SDE which could increase or decrease the obligations of local boards of education by an undetermined amount dependent upon: (1) the advertising costs for each bid; (2) the number of bids a local board advertises; and (3) the cost of the instructional materials, including the electronic versions.