OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

GROVERSELLERS 

ArrOIWW GENI”AL 

Hon. L. A. woode 

State Superintendent of Publio Instruction 

Austin, Texan 

Dear Sir: Opinion Ilo. o-n5a 

Rcr Whether State Boanl oi Bd 

tion is author;zed to e 4+ 

- 

er!> 

tented to dote 

been recelrod and carequote ima your re- 

“In the past your depnrtmcnt has ruled that a 

contract for the rebinding of State owned textbooks should 

be let by the Sate Board of Control, and when the questim’of hnving tests made of the component materials of 

rree textbooks came beiore the ?tate Board of Education 
Hon. L. A. Wood8 - Page 2 

for its consideration, the question van relsed as 

to vhether or not thlr vould be be a proper function 

of the Board of Education or ot the Board o? Control. 

"Several years ago the State Board of Eduoatlon approved the manufacturing standarda and 

speclilcatlonn an net out in the attached Form A 

ontltled Offlalal Mlnlmus Manufacturing Standards 

nnd Zpeclilcatlonn for Textbooks. Those speclflcationn and &tandarcls have nov been adopted by at 

leaat tvelve states and vere orlglnally worked 

up from the epeclflcatlons prepared ln the local 

Textboo'r Dfvlslon. These speClflC8tlons and 

standards have also been adopted by the Book 

Manufacturers' Institute of the United States for 

the manufncture of textbook8 ln all states vhlch 

have free books. 

"The State Board at Education has at no tlme 

elnce the adoption of its otflclal mlnlmum msnufacturing standatis and specificatloas had any 

method by which It could tietermlne with eny degree 

of exactness vhether or not its epecitlcatlona vere 

balng complied with in the manufacture of textbooks. 

The only method of determlnlng such mntters in the 

paat has been by visual and manual examination of 

bound volumes vlthout the aid of lnatrumente or 

speclflc scientific teats OS any kind. Hove:er, 

it is provided in Article 2848, R.C.9. -that 

The text books ahall be selected and adopted ;&eE 

a careful examlnatlon and consideration of all books 

presented, and the booka selected and adopted shall 

be those vNch, in the opinion of the Commlseion, 

are most acceptable for une in the schools -- 

qualltg, mechanical construotlon. paper, prlnt, 

authorship, literary merit and other relevarlt matter4 

being given zuch weight in making its decision as the 

Comalaoion may deem advisable.' 

'In view of the fact that the State Board of 

F'ducatlon purchases annually noproximately tvo mllllon 

flallars worth of 3tate textbooks and that the books 

ln the F',tate reproaent a continuoUs investnent of 

from six to eight nlllion dollars, It seems that lt 
. 

Hon. L. A. Voode - Peg8 3 

vould be rlealxsble to have access to some 

agency through vhlch it oan ba definitely determined tlmt there products are being mnufaotursd in such manner am to protect the fincal 

lntorestr of the State and at the same tlms provide 

the children of the State with the beet content 

meterlale of the reepeotlve rmbjects for a’progresslve educational program. The follovlng 14 

an example of vhat could happen if certain types 

of textbook8 ~41-4 made of poor materials or 

vem poorly mnufactured and vould not stand up 

to the hard wage to which such books are nubJetted in the hands of the children In the 

upper elementary gradeer A certain textbook in 

the eubject of United Staten Xlrtory nov under 

contract la purchased at a cost of $1.47. In the 

three years that thle book ha8 been under contract 

the &ate haa purchased approximately 120,000 

copies at an approximate cant 0f $175,000.00. 

The book 14 under contract for three more yearn. 

Should the lZO.OOO copier nov in the State becauee of poor waponent materials or poor manufacturlng standards go to pieces ln the next 

year or tvo, the coat of replacements for thla 

ono title could very easily be practically 

doubled, vhereas a book of eimllar type and 

coat vhlch 1s composed of standard materials a&i 

vhlch 1s produced under atandmd manufaoturlng processes 

can be maintained in tb.achools for six yeara at nn 

average total replacement cost of from fifteen to tventyfive prr cent of the pumhase price of the original 

number needed to completely supply the schools. 

“Ccrtaln contacts have been made and It 1s deflnltely established that there are testing laboratories 

In the State vhooe ovners and employees together ere 

adequately prepared and equlpment is available for 

ranking such tents as vi11 determine the quality of naterfals employed in the manufacture of State ovnod textboQka. Moreover, the testing procedure and the tests 

th4ms4lvea nre ~11 !:et out In Column 22, Peg4 3 of Form 

A. kinimum t!enufacturing Standards end 3peCific8tlons 

for Textbooko. 

'%c shall be qlad to i-iive your oplnlon vlth 

renpecf; to 9ur original question at your early convenience. 
‘760 - 

Hon. L. A. Vooda - Page 4 

Artlole 2848, Vernon's Annotated Texaa Civil 

3tatuter, read4 a8 follov4r 

"It ahall be the duty of the conlmdon 

to meet at the time end place mntloned in the 

notice w&d advertleewnt, end it shall then end 

there open and U(Udn8 the sealed proposal4 received; and it ahall be the duty of the c&esion 

to mke a full and complete l.nve4tlgatlon of all 

the book4 and bide acoompenying the aen. The 

textbooks &all be eeleoted and hdouted aftra 

careful examlnatlon end oonetderatlon of 411 booke 

presented. end the books eolected snd adopted shafl 

be those which In the oulnlon of the c~ealon ore 

moat acceptable for uae in the schools - uuallty, 

mechanlcel construotlon. D(rger. print prloe, 

authorship. literary merit and other rsPevant 

mettore being Riven eucn veiuht in mawina its declslon a4 the co~lsslon s!ay deem advls8ble. The 

cormisslon shall proceed vlthout delay to edopt 

for uae in the publio schools of thlr State textbooks on all branch44 hereinbefore mentlonedt 

provided, that if the bids aubmltted to said COPmias1011 should not be astirfactory to BSid comnlsslon, they nsy portpone the seleatiori of such 

book4 or a p6rt thereof to such tirab Pa they My 

select, and atter the 8ame la readvertlredd, nev 

bids nay be received and acted on by ouch coamlsrlon a4 provided for ln this Act; provided. 

that no textbook shell be edopted until it ha4 

been read carefully rind examlned by at least a 

maJorlty of the ~ommleslon.~ (Underrcoriag oure) 

The State Textbook Commlsalon ha8 been abolished 

and its duties vere transferred to the state Board of xducation. 344 Article 2t575b-5, Vernon’s Annotated Tex44 Civil 

Statutes. 

Opinion Ro. C-401 of thla depertmnt le the 

opinion referred to in your letter, vhlch holds that a mmtrect for rebinding of State ovned textbooks should be let 

by the 3tate Board of Control. However, thla holding vhs 

based on the specific provisions of Article 608, R.C.3. end 

ve thiuk has no sppllcatlon to t&e queatlon submitted by you. 

r&my atetutea deal vlth the euthorlty of the Board 

of Control to let contrects for the purchase of 3tete supp1i48, 
Ron. L. A. Woods - Pege 5 

printing, eta. but ve am umble to find any statute giving 

the Board of Control eny authority or jurisdiction over the 

letting o? a contract similar to the one inquired about in 

your letter, and it la therefore our opialon that the Board 

of Control has no authority or duty to let the contract Inquired about. 

It ls.our further opinion that Article 2848, supm, 

la breed enough to authorlre the Board of Educatltm to enter 

Into the contract inquired about. 

It is our further opinion that there i8 en evallable appropriation from which payment of such contract could 

be nrado. This appropriation la found under the title “Textbook Dlvlsion sud Textbook Depository”, is a part of the 

appropriationa provided for the State Board of Education, la 

i’ound on age 851, Vol. 5, Vernon’s 1945 Texan Session Lev 

Scrvlce, and made ae Sollovsr 

“It la provided that any amount expended for 

Textbook Adainlatratlon, including nev textbookr, 

rebinding, and my other exDe,ensee connected therevith, 

shall be paid out of the State Textbook Fund.” 

(Underscoring ours) 

Trunting that this satisfectorily anavera pour inquiry, 

ve are 

Very truly your8 

ATTORNEYOWERALOF TEXAS 

BY Wm. J. Fe-Xl% u 

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Asslstnnt 

WJFr BT