.’ 

R-980 

OFFICE OF’ 

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

AUSTIN. TEXAS 

PRICE DANIEL 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

December 23, 1947 

Honorable L. A. Woods 

State Superintendent of 

Public Instruction 

Department of Education 

Austin, ~Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Opinion No. V-465 

Re: Authority of State Board of 

Education to adopt “consumable” textbooks. 

Your letter of recent date inquiring as to the legality 

of awards of contracts by the State Board of Education for -consumable” textbooks~ reads, in part, as follows: 

“In recent years several contracts have been 

awarded for textbooks which are in the general classification of workbooks and which are used up each year 

or each half year. For the most part such books are 

used by the pupils in the pre-primer and primer levels of the first grade although there is a growing tendency to extend upward such adoptions. There are now 

in existence contracts on worktype books in the preprimer, primer, first, and second grade levels. 

“Contracts on worktype books are very expensive since a complete supply must be purchased annually; and because of the very nature’of such books, 

they are more expensive to produce than traditional 

types of textbooks. 

* 

. . . . 

“At the recent textbook adoption, a contract was 

awarded for consumable textbooks in Handwriting for 

grades one and two. The contract period on this particular award was fixed at six years. This means that 

for the two grades involved the State must purchase a 

complete set of new Handwriting books for each of the 

six years, or approximately two million copies at 

$0.195 per copy. For all other grades the traditional 

type copybooks for Handwritfng were adopted, and although they are paper-bound, records of the past years 

indicate that they will last three or more years. The 

contract period on these books was for six years also, 

and the State will probably have to buy for grades three, 
Honorable L. A. Woods, Page 2 (V-465) 

four, five, six, seven, and eight approximately two 

million copies only at $0.11 each. The purchase of 

consumable type books on this basis in Handwriting 

for grades one and two will cost more than five times 

as much as traditional type books would cost. 

‘Please give me the benefit of your opinion concerning the following question : 

“Is it legal for the State Board of Education 

to award contracts on consumable textbooks, 

in Handwriting for grades one and two? * 

Article 2842, V.C.S., provides: 

“It shall be the duty of the State Board of Education . . . to meet . . . for the purpose of considering 

the advisability of continuing or discontinuing, at the 

expiration of each current contract, any and all of the 

State adopted textbooks if used in the public schools 

of Texas, and of making such adoptions as are provided for in Articles 2843, 2844, and 2844a, Revised 

Civil Statutes, 1925, as amended. Before making any 

change in the adopted series, however, the State Board 

of Education shall, upon thorough investigation, satisfy 

itself that a change is necessary for the best i&Z 

of the school children and that such change is consistent 

with financial economy. Provided, that unless new texts 

better suited to the requirements of the school’and at a 

price and quality satisfactory to the Board are offered 

to supplant existing texts, then the Board shall renew the 

existing contracts for such a period as may be deemed 

advisable not to exceed a period of six (6) years. . . 

Provided further that before the Board shall determine 

to displace any book upon which the contract is expiring, 

it shall, before making a new contract for a new text, 

ascertain through the office of the State Superintendent 

of Public Instruction the number of usable books of the 

kind on which the contract has, or is about to expire, 

there are on hand, and also the estimated number of 

such books that would be required to supply the needs 

of the Schools of the State using said books for the first, 

second, and third years immediately succeeding the expiration of the contract on said books . . . If, upon consideration of the cost of the books required to supply 

such needs for such a period, hit appears to the Board 

that it will be economical to do so, it may make a contract with such publisher to furnish such books during 

said first, second year or third year period with a view 
Honorable L. Ai Woods, Page 3 (V-465) 

to using, up the entire supply of such books on hand 

instead of wasting the same at the expiration of the 

original contract. At the expiration of such period, 

the Board....hall then make a contract for a textbook 

‘!~on the subject . . . The series of copy books and 

series of drawing books shall each be considered as 

one book. . .” 

Article 2843, V.C.S., as amended by Senate Bill No. 215, 

50th Legislature,.&gular Session, Acts 1947, reads, in part, as follows: 

‘The Textbook Co-ission (State Board of 

Education) authorized’by this Act shall have authorityto select and adopt a uniform system on textbooks 

to be used in the public free schools of Texas, and the 

book6 60 selected and adopted shall be printed in the 

English language, and shall include and be limited to 

textbooks on the following 6ubjeCt6: Spelling, reading, 

. a system of writing books, a system of drawing 

books, . . .” 

Article 2848, V.C.S., provides: 

Y 

. . . The textbooks shall ,be selected and adopted after a careiul examination and consideration of 

all books presented, and the books selected and adopted shall b6 those Wfiidi, in the opinion of the c.o~ission, are most acceptable in the schools-quality, mechanical~constructfon, paper, print, price, authorship, 

literary merits and other relevant matters being given 

such weight in making its decision as the Commission 

may deem advisable . . . no textbook shall be adopted 

until it ha6 been read carefully and examined by at 

least a majority of the Commissron.” (Kmpha616 in 

above quotatrons ours). 

Ar&e 2048, V.&i., vests the State Board of Education 

with final discretionary &uthor,ity to select and adopt those textbook6 

authorized by statute which, in the opinion of the Board, are most acceptable in the schools, the cost or price thereof being given such 

weight in making its decision as the Board may deem advisable. 

Likewise, as to previously adopted textbooks on any subject, 

the Board is further authorized under Article 2842, V.C,S., to make a 

change provided it satisfies itself “that a change is necessary for the 

best intere6t of the school children and that such change is consistent 

with financial economy.” Indeed, “unless new text6 better suited to 

the requirement6 of the school and at a price and quality satisfactory 
Honorable L. A. Woods, Page 4 (V-465) 

to the Board are offered to supplant existing texts,” the statute provides that the Board shall renew the existing contracts. 

Presumably, the Board in adopting a new textbook in 

Handwriting, referred to in your letter a6 being in the ‘consumable* 

form rather than in the traditional copy book form, has determined 

that this Handwriting book adopted is the most acceptable in the schools 

and that it is best suited for the requirements of the school or classes 

involved, the matter of price and replacement having been fully considered. 

We find no statutory requirement that limits the Board in 

its adoption or readoption of textbooks in respect to the selection of 

text6 of the traditional type. It is true, the Legislature has wisely 

stressed financial economy in the matter of adoption of textbooks and 

has provided a procedure to avoid waste, requiring the using up of 

those textbook6 to be supplanted with new adoptions. The primary 

duty of the Board of Education in this matter is to select and adopt 

such texts a6 should be for the best interest of the school children 

of Texas. 

Accordingly, we an6wer your submitted question in the 

affirmative. 

SUMMARY 

Acting under and by virtue of the provisions of 

Article 2842, 2843 and 2848, V.C..S., the State Board 

of Education may legally award contracts on consumable 

textbooks in Handwriting for grade6 one and two. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS 

Chester E. Ollison 

Assistant 

CEO/mw/JCP 

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