| (a) All laws and rules applying to instructional materials
provided to students with no disabilities that are not in conflict
with the Texas Education Code, §31.028, or this section shall
apply to the distribution and control of special instructional materials.
(b) Special instructional materials include braille,
large-print, and audio books and any other formats designed specifically
to provide equal access to students with disabilities.
(c) Requisitions for special instructional materials
shall be based on actual student enrollment but may include up to
two copies per student if necessary to meet individual needs.
(d) Special instructional materials are the property
of the state. School districts and open-enrollment charter schools
are responsible for replacing or reimbursing the state for lost, stolen,
or damaged special instructional materials.
(e) Publishers shall grant permission to the state
to have adopted instructional materials converted into special instructional
materials without penalty or royalty.
(f) On or before the deadline specified in the schedule
of adoption procedures, each publisher of newly adopted print instructional
materials shall provide computerized files to the state as specified
in the proclamation to be used for producing special instructional
materials. All information contained in adopted instructional materials
shall be included on the computerized files. Computerized files may
be copied and distributed to school districts, upon request, for use
with a student who requires the use of computerized instructional
materials, pursuant to an individualized plan developed for the student
under the Rehabilitation Act, §504, the Americans with Disabilities
Act, or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
(g) Gifts of special instructional materials may be
accepted by the commissioner of education and shall become state property.
Gift materials may be shipped by Free Matter for the Blind and Other
Physically Handicapped Persons to the Special Textbook Redistribution
Center or other location designated by the TEA.
(h) Adopted instructional materials needed by a Texas
public school teacher with a print disability to carry out his or
her instructional duties shall be furnished in the required format
without cost. The materials are to be loaned to the public school
districts as long as needed and are to be returned to the state when
they are no longer needed.
(i) Large-print instructional materials intended for
student use must comply with the standards in the latest edition of
the Manufacturing Standards and Specifications for Textbooks.
(j) Adopted instructional materials in a specialized
format that are requested by a parent with a print disability shall
be furnished without cost by the state. Requests for electronic files
will be filled by the TEA after the parent signs and the TEA receives
a statement, through the appropriate school district, promising that
the parent will safeguard the security of the files and observe all
current copyright laws, including those that forbid reproduction of
the files and their transfer to other parties. All special instructional
materials and electronic files that have been provided must be returned
to the local school district at the end of the school year.
(k) Adopted instructional materials that are not compliant
with the technical standards of the Federal Rehabilitation Act, Section
508, or do not conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
required in the proclamation will be removed from the state ordering
system and will not be available for order through the TEA.
(l) Producers that enter into a contract with the TEA
for the production and distribution of special instructional materials
shall provide them to students with disabilities at the same time
other students in the same school district receive print instructional
materials.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §66.1311 adopted to be effective July 23, 2012, 37 TexReg 5413; amended to be effective May 12, 2014, 39 TexReg 3704; amended to be effective May 8, 2017, 42 TexReg 2405; amended to be effective November 2, 2021, 46 TexReg 7404 |
