IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 463 
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding textbook equity. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 28, 2006 
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself and Mr. SHIMKUS) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
and the Workforce 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding textbook equity. 
Whereas 84 percent of teachers nationally stress the impor-
tance of textbooks for learning; 
Whereas 16 percent of students nationally do not have 
enough textbooks; 
Whereas 29 percent of students nationally do not have 
enough textbooks to take home; 
Whereas 37 percent of homework comes from textbooks; 
Whereas 33 percent of teachers say the achievement gap has 
widened; 
Whereas 32 percent of teachers have class disruptions be-
cause of sharing; 
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•HCON 463 IH 
Whereas 15 percent of students have textbooks that are in 
poor or bad shape; 
Whereas 36 percent of teachers must do additional work to 
supplement outdated textbooks; 
Whereas 73 percent of teachers in urban schools use own 
funding; 
Whereas 24 percent of urban teachers have a hard time pre-
paring their children; 
Whereas 68 percent of teachers say an up-to-date textbook is 
replaced at a maximum of 5 years; 
Whereas 31 percent of textbooks are 10 years or older; 
Whereas 14 percent of textbooks have outdated information; 
Whereas outdated information in textbooks is negatively im-
pacting tests at 20 percent in minority areas; 
Whereas 88 percent of teachers stress the importance of 
choosing their own textbooks; 
Whereas 32 percent of the time teachers of white students 
are able to choose their own books; 
Whereas 17 percent of the time teachers of black students 
are able to choose their own books; 
Whereas the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 established 
Federal requirements on States to meet educational 
goals; 
Whereas children are tested on information they receive from 
textbooks; 
Whereas if textbooks are outdated the children suffer and are 
placed at a disadvantage; 
Whereas the Chicago Tribune examined 50 school districts 
throughout Illinois and found nearly 80 percent use text-
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•HCON 463 IH 
books in a main academic area that are at least 8 years 
old and about 22 percent have books that are at least 15 
years old; 
Whereas the San Jose Mercury News lists a survey in which 
21,000 California textbooks in 395 schools statewide 
were missing, damaged or out of date, and 45 out of 58 
superintendents from those schools list their schools as 
strikingly low on the State’s performance index; 
Whereas States such as Louisiana and Georgia allot less than 
$27 per student annually for textbooks while the average 
cost of just one textbook averages at $50; 
Whereas the NEA/AAP national survey found urban schools 
to be twice as likely to have an inadequate supply of text-
books; 
Whereas 1 in 3 teachers nationwide reported using textbooks 
10 years old or older; 
Whereas many schools across the country have forced stu-
dents to pay for textbooks to compensate for the lack of 
funding, further perpetuating the ‘‘achievement gap’’ be-
tween different socio-economic groups; and 
Whereas the national graduation rate for males is 65 percent 
overall, with 73 percent of white males graduating in 
comparison to just 48 percent of African American males 
and 49 percent of Latino males: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That— 
(1) it is the sense of Congress that— 
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•HCON 463 IH 
(A) all students deserve up-to-date text-
books in order to meet national education re-
quirements; and 
(B) each State should ensure that poorer 
school districts should have the same or similar 
up-to-date textbooks as students throughout the 
State; and 
(2) therefore, to uphold the equal dignity of all 
American students, this Congress resolves that pri-
mary and secondary schools shall receive equitable 
funding for textbooks in order to rectify the textbook 
disparity. 
Æ 
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