6295.1: Taught Curriculum - Purchase and Loan of Textbooks to Private School Students

The Associate Superintendent for Educational Services will be responsible for purchasing textbooks from funds made available by the Nebraska Department of Education and for lending those textbooks to students attending approved or accredited private schools in accordance with state statutes and regulations promulgated by the Nebraska Department of Education.

I. On or before November 15, a list of textbooks and any other instructional materials that are designated for use by individual students in classroom instruction as the principal source of study material use in the Millard Public Schools during the current school year and a list of the textbooks designated for use in the school districts where the private schools are located will be made available. This list shall also include any new textbooks that the school district has determined by November 15 to be used during the next school year. If, after November 15 but before January 15, the school district makes the decision to acquire new texts, the district will notify the non-public school parents, guardians, or authorized parent representatives, that the textbook list has been amended and that the added books are eligible for requisition. a. Textbook shall mean a book and/or electronic media, any instructional material that which is designated, for use in classroom instruction as the principal source of study material. Library books, teacher’s editions, workbooks and other similar materials are not to be considered textbooks. The following, if designated for use by individual students as the principal source of study material, are likewise to be considered textbooks for purposes of this rule: multiple texts; electronic and digital subscriptions; and hard-copy, write-in work texts if accessible by students pursuant to a multi-year subscription entered into by the school district.

b. The following are not to be considered textbooks: library books, teacher's editions, workbooks and other similar consumable materials, hard-copy supplemental workbooks and any book or material designated for classroom, and not individual use (e.g. "Big Books" and the like).

II. A copy of the list shall be made available for inspection at the Don Stroh Administration Center in the office of Educational Services. Digital copies may be emailed to parents, legal guardians, or parent representative(s), as authorized by completion of the NDE designated form. Reproduction of the list may be provided upon request for a reasonable fee. The school district shall limit the loan each year to ten textbooks per student for students in grade K-6 and to eight textbooks per student for students in grades 7-12. 

III. Application by a parent, or legal guardian, or authorized parent representative for the loan of textbooks shall be made to the school district in which the child resides or the school district in which the private school the child attends is located no later than January 15 for the following school year on behalf of each individual child on designated NDE form. Application forms are available in the Office of Educational Services at the Don Stroh Administration Center and on the Nebraska Department of Education website.

IV. Prior to February 15 of each year, the district will file an application with the Nebraska Department of Education on the designated NDE form requesting funding for the requested books. 

V. 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 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 GRADES

1 Elementary Reading texts by grade 1-5
2 Elementary Math texts by grade 1-5
3 Elementary Science texts by grade 1-5
4 Elementary Social Studies texts by grade 1-5
5 Secondary English/Language texts by grade 6-12
6 Secondary Math texts by grade 6-12
7 Secondary Science texts by grade 6-12
8 Secondary Social Studies texts by grade 6-12
9 All other elementary texts by grade 1-5
10 All other secondary texts by grade 6-12

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.

VI. All textbooks and other tangible materials purchased for loan to private school students will be cataloged and entered into the district library management system as a Textbook Loan item. Requested textbooks will be checked out and checked back in when no longer requested. Textbooks that have been checked in and are no longer used by the district will remain in inventory until they have not been requested for three consecutive years. 

VII. Parents, guardians, or authorized parent representative receiving textbooks shall be notified in writing at least ten (10) days prior to the beginning of public school classes outlining the procedures and dates for distribution and return of textbooks. In private schools dealing with large numbers of parents and students, there can be a multi-family designation of a parent representative via "power of attorney" to pick up and return the texts prior to and after the school year.

VIII. The parent, or legal guardian, or authorized parent representative of each private school student receiving a textbook (textbooks), or the parent representative serving via the "power of attorney", shall pick up the books at a place and time designated by the Millard Public Schools and sign a receipt for said text(s). The designated NDE form shall be used. A separate inventory of textbooks and instructional materials provided through a license or subscription and made available for loan shall be maintained by the Office of Educational Services. Access to instructional material obtained through a license or subscription will be managed by Millard Public Schools.


IX. A parent or legal guardian of each private school student, or the authorized Parent Representative serving via the "power of attorney", shall return textbooks to the Distribution Center at a place and time designated by the Millard Public Schools, on or within 15 days after the last day of public school classes. Such inventory may be maintained at a facility of the school district which purchased the textbooks or at an alternative site or sites agreed upon by the school district and the authorized parent representative(s) responsible for such textbooks. If an alternative inventory site is designated, the authorized parent representative(s) shall be deemed to have custody of such textbooks, be personally liable for the safekeeping of such textbooks, and shall maintain a documented inventory-control system as agreed upon with the school district. Cessation of instructional material provided through a license or subscription agreement, including those not yet expired, will be managed and documented by Millard Public Schools.

X. 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. The unit cost at the time of purchase shall be the basis for the assessment. A new book is assessed at net cost. The amount to be charged decreases each year by one-fourth of the net cost of the book until one-fourth of the net cost is reached. This is the minimum amount, which may be charged students for a lost or damaged book.

XI. Parents, or legal guardians, or authorized parent representatives 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. Amounts recovered from parents or students for damaged textbooks or textbooks not returned shall be retained in a separate account and used to offset the amount claimed in future years for distribution.

XII. Textbooks purchased with these funds shall be made available to private school children so long as the textbooks remain on the list, and are not lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged beyond repair.

Date of Adoption
February 1, 1990
Date of Revision
November 6, 1995
June 28, 1999
June 20, 2005
February 16, 2009
September 8, 2015
November 21, 2016