DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O.
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 157
July 11, 2008
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Billy K. Cannaday, Jr. Superintendent of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Procurement and Pricing Information for Textbooks
Approved by the |
The 2008 Virginia General Assembly approved
Senate Bill 356, House Bill 137, and House Bill 354 to amend and reenact Sections 22.1-238,
22.1-239,
22.1-241,
22.1-242, and 22.1-243
of the Code
of
The legislative
changes may be reviewed at the following website: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+ful+CHAP0663. Also, the full text of these amendments to
the Code of Virginia are highlighted in the attachment to this
memorandum.
The legislative
changes are intended to accomplish the following: 1) to eliminate provisions which are no
longer needed because of statewide uniform procurement laws; 2) to reorganize
provisions for clarity; 3) to require local school boards to develop a policy
ensuring consumable materials are furnished to students who are unable to
afford them; and 4) to permit private schools within a school division to
purchase from a local school board textbook contract with permission from the
affected local school board and the affected publisher. Furthermore, the law now requires the Board
of Education to publish a list of all approved textbooks on its website and to
list the publisher and current lowest wholesale price of such textbooks.
Effective July 1, 2008, the Department reorganized sections of its Web page and created the following site to provide technical assistance to local school boards regarding the procurement and pricing of textbooks: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/Instruction/mat_procurement_main.html.
If
you have any questions regarding these amendments to the Code of Virginia, please do not hesitate to contact Michelle Vucci,
director of policy, at (804)
371-0558
or at michelle.vucci@doe.virginia.gov,
or Wiley Rowsey, director of procurement, at (804) 225-3576 or at wiley.rowsey@doe.virginia.gov,
or Dr. Felicia Dyke, director of middle and high school instruction at (804)
225-2651 or at felicia.dyke@doe.virginia.gov.
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Attachment
a. Full
Text of Legislative Changes (PDF)