Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 66 - STATE ADOPTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS › Subchapter A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 66.15 - Administrative Penalty

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Under the
				  Texas Education Code (TEC), §31.151(b), the State Board of Education
				  (SBOE) may assess a reasonable administrative penalty against a publisher or
				  manufacturer found in violation of a provision of the TEC, §
										31.151(a).
				  The SBOE shall assess an administrative penalty under this section only for a
				  violation based upon an instructional material adopted by the SBOE. An
				  administrative penalty shall be assessed only after the SBOE has granted the
				  publisher or manufacturer a hearing in accordance with the TEC, §
										31.151; the
				  Administrative Procedure Act; Chapter 157, Subchapter A, of this title
				  (relating to General Provisions for Hearings Before the State Board of
				  Education); and this chapter.
(b)
				  The SBOE may assess an administrative penalty against a publisher or
				  manufacturer who violates the TEC, §
										31.151(a)(1),
				  or a rule implementing that provision, including assessing an administrative
				  penalty against a publisher or manufacturer who offers an instructional
				  material in this state at a higher price than that offered to any other state,
				  public school, or school district in the United States. A publisher or
				  manufacturer does not violate this provision if within 60 days of the sale at a
				  higher price, the publisher or manufacturer provides a refund in the
				  incremental amount of the lower price compared to the purchase price to all
				  Texas public schools that previously purchased the same instructional material
				  at a higher price and enters into a written agreement with the Texas Education
				  Agency (TEA) to offer the instructional material at the lower price to any
				  Texas public school. An action under this subsection may only be taken for
				  differential pricing that occurs between the time when a public school may
				  start entering orders for a particular school year until the time when a public
				  school may start entering orders for the subsequent school year.
(c) The SBOE may assess an administrative
				  penalty against a publisher or manufacturer who violates the TEC, §
										31.151(a)(2),
				  or a rule implementing that provision. A publisher or manufacturer does not
				  violate this provision if within 60 days of the sale at a lower price, the
				  publisher or manufacturer provides a refund in the incremental amount of the
				  lower price compared to the original purchase price to all Texas public schools
				  that previously purchased the same instructional material. An action under this
				  subsection may only be taken for differential pricing that occurs between the
				  time when a public school may start entering orders for a particular school
				  year until the time when a public school may start entering orders for the
				  subsequent school year.
(d) The
				  SBOE may assess an administrative penalty against a publisher or manufacturer
				  who violates the TEC, §
										31.151(a)(3),
				  or a rule implementing that provision. A publisher or manufacturer does not
				  violate this provision if within 60 days of dissemination of instructional
				  materials or ancillary items free of charge, the publisher or manufacturer
				  provides a refund of the purchase to all Texas public schools that previously
				  purchased the same instructional material and enters into a written agreement
				  with the TEA that the ancillary items will be provided free of charge if any
				  Texas public school buys the instructional material at issue.
(e) The SBOE may assess an administrative
				  penalty against a publisher or manufacturer who violates the TEC, §
										31.151(a)(4),
				  or a rule implementing that provision. A publisher or manufacturer does not
				  violate this provision if within 60 days of dissemination of instructional
				  materials of higher quality, the publisher or manufacturer provides new copies
				  of the higher quality instructional material at no charge or, with the public
				  school consent, a refund equivalent to the price of the lower quality material
				  to all Texas public schools that previously purchased the same instructional
				  material.
(f) The SBOE may assess
				  an administrative penalty against a publisher or manufacturer who violates the
				  TEC, §
										31.151(a)(4) or
				  (9), or a rule implementing those provisions,
				  including:
(1) an administrative penalty for
				  selling instructional materials with factual errors. The SBOE may assess an
				  administrative penalty against a publisher or manufacturer of instructional
				  materials who sells instructional materials that have been adopted by the SBOE
				  and contain factual errors unless, within 60 days of knowledge of the factual
				  error, the publisher or manufacturer corrects the factual error, including
				  revising web-based instructional materials, providing corrective materials to
				  public schools that have received material containing the factual error, and
				  ensuring no further distribution of materials occurs without correction of the
				  error; or
(2) an administrative
				  penalty for failure to correct factual errors. The SBOE may assess an
				  administrative penalty against a publisher or manufacturer who fails to correct
				  a factual error, including:
(A) failure to
				  correct a factual error identified in the list of corrections submitted by a
				  publisher under §
												66.28(c)(11)
				  of this title (relating to Requirements for Publisher Participation);
(B) failure to correct a factual error
				  identified in the report of the commissioner of education under §
												66.63(e)
				  of this title (relating to Report of the Commissioner of Education) and
				  required by the SBOE; or
(C)
				  failure to correct a factual error identified and required by the SBOE prior to
				  the adoption of the instructional material.
(3) an administrative penalty for a factual
				  error in an instructional material that occurs through updates to the materials
				  by the publisher when the updates did not comply with requirements for updating
				  materials, including the requirements under §
											66.75
				  of this title (relating to Updates to Adopted Instructional Materials) and
				  § 66.76 of this title (relating to New Editions of Adopted Instructional
				  Materials). Penalties imposed under this paragraph shall:
(A) not be subject to penalty limitations
				  imposed by subsection (h) of this section or any other section of this
				  title;
(B) be of a sufficient
				  amount to deter future violations; and
(C) be based on a timeframe beginning at the
				  time the factual error first appeared in instructional materials delivered to a
				  public school, unless mitigating circumstances suggest otherwise.