Regulation 6445-1

Curriculum Decisions

Purchase and Distribution of Loaned Textbooks to Private School Students

Reviewed and affirmed by the Board: 
Last Revision: 
Original publish date: 11/24/2009
Related policies & regulations:  
Legal references:  79-734; NDE Rule 4

 

The Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning will be responsible for purchasing textbooks from funds made available by the Nebraska Department of Education and for lending those textbooks to private school students in accordance with state statutes and regulations promulgated by the Nebraska Department of Education.

  1. On or before November 15 a list shall be prepared of textbooks designated for use in Lincoln Public Schools during the current year and any new textbooks that the district has determined by January 15 to be used during the next school year. Textbook shall mean a book which is designated for use in classroom instruction as the principal source of study material and which is distributed to all students in a classroom. Library books, workbooks and other similar materials are not to be considered textbooks.
  2. A copy of the list shall be available for inspection on the district website (under the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment). Reproduction of the list may be provided upon request and payment of ten (10) cents per page.
  3. Application by a parent or legal guardian for the loan of textbooks shall be made in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Department of the Lincoln Public Schools at the Lincoln Public Schools District Office building on or before January 15 for the following school year on behalf of each individual child on the form or forms from time to time designated by the Nebraska Department of Education.
  4. Prior to February 15 of each year, the District will file an application with the Department of Education on its designated forms requesting funding for the requested books.
  5. Textbooks for which application has been made will be purchased from the funds made available by the Nebraska Department of Education. The following course and grade priorities are established to select the textbooks that will be purchased if, after the distribution of funds, the School District will be unable to purchase all of the textbooks for which applications have been made due to a pro-rata reduction in the funds by the Nebraska Department of Education.

 Priority Course and Grade

  1.  Elementary Reading texts by grade K-6
  2. Elementary Math texts by grade K-6
  3. Elementary Science texts by grade K-6
  4. Elementary Social Studies texts by grade K-6
  5. All other elementary texts by grade K-6
  6. Secondary English texts by grade 7-12
  7. Secondary Math texts by grade 7-12
  8. Secondary Science texts by grade 7-12
  9. Secondary Social Studies texts by grade 7-12
  10. All other secondary texts by grade 7-12
  11. If it is necessary to use grade level to establish priorities to select the textbooks that will be purchased and loaned, students in the lowest grade level will receive the highest priority. In the event that there are not enough textbooks for a particular subject and grade level to fill all of the individual requests, textbooks will be distributed on the basis of a random drawing.
  12. The School District shall limit the loan each year to ten (10) textbooks per student in grades K-6 and to eight (8) textbooks per student in grades 7-12.
  13. A notice shall be published at least ten (10) days prior to the beginning of public school classes outlining the procedure and dates for distribution and return of textbooks.
  14. A separate inventory of textbooks available for loan shall be maintained.

Return of Textbooks

A parent or legal guardian of a private school student shall return textbooks to the Curriculum,  Instruction, and Assessment Department within fifteen (15) days after the close of the public school year classes.

Damaged or Lost Textbooks

The parent or legal guardian of each private school student receiving textbooks shall sign a receipt at the time the textbooks are picked up on the form designated by the Nebraska Department of Education. It shall be the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian to reimburse the school district for the replacement value of any damaged or lost loaned textbooks. Parents or legal guardians who have failed to reimburse the school district for lost or damaged textbooks will not be loaned textbooks in the future until such reimbursement has been made.