Publisher Information - Rules

O.S. §,16-103 The State Textbook Committee shall advertise for books in all basic subjects in such manner and for such time as it may deem best. Each year the Committee shall advertise for sealed bids from publishers of textbooks for furnishing textbooks for the public schools of this state. Each bid shall state specifically and clearly the price at which each book will be furnished FOB the bidder's depository or delivered to any ordering school district in this state, and the price the books may be sold for through local retail book dealers, and shall be accompanied by a sample copy of each book offered in such bid, together with any teacher edition or teacher aids used with such book. A copy of each textbook for which a bid has been accepted by the Committee shall be displayed in at least one library or institution of higher education within each Congressional District in this state. The facility shall have free public access. The textbooks shall be displayed from the time they are accepted by the Committee until their final selection or rejection. A record of all the books delivered direct to any school district shall be immediately furnished by the shipper and the school district to the State Board of Education. Each bid shall be accompanied by a sworn statement specifically:

1. Stating whether the publisher is the owner of any interest or share in any other textbook publishing houses and, if so, giving the names and addresses thereof;
2. Showing whether any member of the Committee is in any manner interested, directly or indirectly, in such person, firm, or corporation submitting such bid; and
3. Showing the name and address of every committee, public official, or individual in this state who has been furnished, within the preceding twelve (12) months, any copy of the textbook or textbooks or any edition thereof included in the bid, together with the numbers and titles thereof furnished to each recipient. If the fact shall be disclosed that any member of the Committee, State Textbook Director, or any employee of that office is interested in the bidder, it shall work a disqualification of such member, and the member shall not be permitted to serve on the Committee, and the bidder shall be disqualified. If it shall be disclosed that such sworn statement does not accurately and completely give the information required, the State Textbook Committee shall disregard the bid. Oklahoma authors of school textbooks shall be permitted to receive the customary royalty, regardless of employment.

Quick Links

• Letters of Intent to Bid
• Registration of Publishers
• Information Necessary to Complete Bid
• Materials to be Considered for Adoption
• Ancillary and Supplementary Materials
• Free Materials
• Acceptance or Rejection of Bids
• Local District Sampling
• Contracts and Bonds

Bidding Procedures

1. Letters of Intent to Bid (720:10-3-1): Letters of intent to bid from publishers must state the book or series of books the publishing company intends to bid in the appropriate subject area and grade level. Additions to the letter of intent will be accepted only until the deadline for the receipt of publishers' bids and only if submitted in writing.
2. Registration of Publishers (720:10-3-2):
   • Any person, firm, corporation or organization may register with the Secretary of the State Textbook Committee. No more than two (2) names and addresses may be designated to receive mail-outs, although up to four (4) authorized agents or representatives may be listed at any one time for any one person, firm, corporation or organization. The Secretary of the State Textbook Committee shall be notified immediately, in writing, of changes in agents or representatives, addresses or phone numbers.
   • Registration must be in written form to the office of the Secretary of the State Textbook Committee. Included in registration requests will be:
     • name of person, firm, corporation or organization;
     • addresses of main office, regional/area offices and local offices or representatives;
     • names of contact person(s) at each location;
     • names of up to four (4) in-state agents or representatives;
     • phone numbers for each person and place;
     • two (2) addresses where mail-outs should be addressed.
3. Information Necessary to Complete Bid (720:10-3-3):
   • The Secretary of the Committee shall instruct all publishers to indicate whether each item bid is submitted to be adopted and listed in the Official List and Textbook Requisition as a comprehensive program, ancillary item, or supplementary item.
   • The Secretary of the Committee shall instruct all publishers to include in their bids, for the purpose of securing a selection or adoption, the price delivered to the ordering district.
   • The publisher shall stipulate in the contract that the price for which the textbook is to be furnished will be the lowest at which the same textbook will be sold or offered for sale for the purpose of securing a state or local selection or adoption elsewhere in the United States during the six (6) months prior to the date of execution of the contract; that the publisher will reduce the contract price of the textbook if the price of the same textbook is reduced below such contract price elsewhere in the United States, and will file with the Secretary of the Committee a sworn statement of such reduction made elsewhere.
   • Publisher will establish and maintain, or operate jointly with other contractors, a suitable and convenient depository in the State of Oklahoma where a stock of the state adopted instructional materials to supply all immediate demands will be kept. Publisher will maintain at its depository a sufficient supply of such textbooks or other physical products for individuals or boards of education desiring to purchase the same, and will sell any such book to any individual or board of education at the same price at which such instructional material is sold to the State of Oklahoma, plus cost of transportation to the individual or board of education purchasing the instructional materials. If the Publisher fails to carry a sufficient stock of such books at its depository to take care of all immediate demands of the State of Oklahoma and others requesting the same, or to furnish such books as required by law or by the contract entered into by the Publisher and the State Textbook Committee, the State Board of Education may recover on the bond of the publisher for the full value of the books not furnished as required, by the contract. [70 O.S., §16-115] The contract between the publishers and the State Textbook Committee may also require the payment of an additional sum of $100.00 for each day such books are not furnished. In addition, the State Board of Education may terminate the Contract.
   • All contracts shall include the important principles of the rules and regulations or agreements which bidders sign before or at the time of filing their bid.
   • In addition to subsections (a) through (e) of this Section, the publisher is bound by all provisions of the State Textbook Law.
4. Materials to be Considered for Adoption (720:10-3-5):
   • One copy of each textbook and one sample of each learning package, kit, or other comprehensive review materials shall be filed with the office of the Secretary of the State Textbook Committee on or before the date specified in the schedule for the textbook adoption process. Textbooks must be in final form.
   • One copy of each textbook and one sample of each learning package, kit, or other comprehensive review material and materials not listed as free shall be provided to each member of the State Textbook Committee and to each Congressional District Review Center. Failure to deliver samples by the date established by the State Textbook Committee calendar will result in a bid rejection.
   • Samples of textbooks provided to the State Textbook Committee members may be returned to the publishers, donated to a school district, or donated to a college or university. Under no circumstances shall the samples become the personal property of the committee member or the advisor. Under no circumstances shall the samples be sold or donated for resale purposes
   • In order for a library or university to be designated by the State Textbook Committee as a Congressional District Review Center the library or university must agree to the following conditions:(1) conveniently display materials immediately upon the receipt of materials and maintain the display until such date adopted by the State Textbook Committee; (2) obtain approval of the State Textbook Committee before disposing or distributing the materials to any other person or entity; and remove materials from public access once they are adopted. Materials may remain accessible for on-site use to a limited audience (education professionals and pre-service teachers);(3) sample materials may be returned to the publisher or may be disposed of with the approval of the State Textbook Committee
   • Highly-visible, permanent labels stating, "sample not to be sold" must be attached to each item furnished as a sample to the State Textbook Committee, Congressional Review Centers and the office of the Secretary of the State Textbook Committee,
   • Consumable materials must be clearly marked as consumable.
   • Each publisher must warrant that all books adopted shall comply with the standards in the Manufacturing Standards and Specifications for Textbooks approved by the National Advisory Commission on Textbook Standards.
   • The State Textbook Committee favors regular editions, but special editions may be considered provided the differences between the two (2) editions are set forth with the bid.
   • Digital content and related materials will be considered for adoption.
   • Teacher materials will be adopted as separate items only at the kindergarten level and ESL.
   • Instructional Materials shall be adopted in no more than one (1) core subject cycle.
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   • A book which has been bid and rejected by the State Textbook Committee cannot be bid again for the subject contract cycle
   • Technology components of instructional materials, including, but not limited to applications using computer-assisted instruction, Web 2.0 Tools, Saas (Software as a Service) and other Cloud-based technologies, shall include comprehensive teacher materials listing special requirements for the respective subject or course along with(1) instructions on how to use the technology components;(2) an inventory of the components of the program;(3) specifications for the hardware necessary to operate the system;(4) on-demand technical support
   • Specifications for the hardware necessary to operate the instructional computer software system must be identified. If the hardware and equipment essential for review of the materials bid in any category is not available, it shall be supplied to the State Textbook Committee, Congressional District Review Centers, and the State Department of Education for the duration of the review process.
   • Publishers may not pilot programs to be bid for adoption without explicit written permission from the district superintendent and site administrator. Pilots must be completed no later than the date of the call for bids one adoption cycle year prior to the opening and consideration of bids in that subject area. Violation of this rule will result in immediate removal from the state textbook list.
5. Ancillary and Supplementary Items (720:10:3-6): Any ancillary items or supplementary items listed with textbooks in the annual requisition must be approved by the State Textbook Committee unless designated as free. If ancillary or supplementary materials are not available at the time of the initial adoption, but subsequently become available, publishers may submit the ancillary and supplementary materials out of cycle. When the Call for Bids is mailed each year, publishers can submit letters of intent to present ancillary and supplementary materials. Samples must be sent to all members of the State Textbook Committee, to the regional review centers and to the office of the Secretary of the State Textbook Committee. The ancillary and supplementary item(s) will be considered for adoption at the regular adoption meeting. The adopted ancillary and supplementary item(s) will be listed in the next annual requisition.
6. Free Materials (720:10-3-7):
   • Free materials must be listed on the Free Materials Form of the Bid and additionally labeled, "Free Material not reviewed or approved by the State Textbook Committee".
   • Free Material will not be submitted to the State Textbook Committee for consideration for adoption purposes. Samples of any items listed on the Free Materials Form shall be listed at the same time and in the same manner as the textbooks which they accompany. Materials listed as give free items must not be from another bid area. Materials listed as free items must be for the duration of the contract period.
   • All items that are not listed on the bid form as given free cannot be provided free. Doing so may jeopardize the textbook contract.
   • Comprehensive teacher materials will be furnished free to school districts based upon a minimum ratio of one (1) teacher set to 20 textbooks purchased by the district and will be submitted with bids for review.
   • Items that are integral to the educational material may be offered free as part of the bid. These include software that supplements, complements, or is a digital version of the textbook; consumables or kits that are essential to the use of the educational material, teacher manuals, test banks, study guides, and supplementary material.
   • Nonessential items that shall not be offered free include: lab equipment such as microscopes, carts, and other hardware; standard electronic equipment such as DVD players, overhead projectors, phone/music/data transmitting and listening devices, cameras, televisions, computers, media carts, calculators; educational materials that are not related to the subject areas of the items that are offered in the bid.
7. Acceptance or Rejection of Bids (720:10-3-8): Before August 15, the State Textbook Committee will meet at a place designated by the Secretary of the State Textbook Committee to open and examine sealed bids. At that time the Secretary of the State Textbook Committee will report on the receipt of textbooks and ancillary materials. The State Textbook Committee will then vote to accept or reject bids. On rejection of a bid the chairperson of the State Textbook Committee will direct the Secretary to return to the bidder any materials submitted for consideration.
8. Local District Sampling (720:10-3-9): In accordance with Title 70, Section 16-111.B, upon written request by the district textbook coordinator, publishers of a textbook selected for adoption by the State Textbook Committee must furnish at least one examination copy of the instructional materials including the teacher edition, if one is published, and a copy of software or online access for purposes of complete demonstration and review, if available, to each requesting district. All examination copies not adopted at the local level must be returned. Publishers are prohibited from providing examination copies of textbooks instructional materials unless requested in writing by the district textbook coordinator. Failure to do so may jeopardize the textbook contract.

Contracts and Bonds

9. Bonds (720:10-7-1): Each successful bidder shall be required to post a bond of $2,000.00 for each series with a maximum of $5,000.00 by any one company.
10. Contracts (720:10-7-2):
    • The execution date of the contracts shall be December 31 of each year.
    • Assumption, acquisition, assignment or transfer of contracts currently in effect between the State Textbook Committee and persons, firms or corporations will be allowed during the period of the contract upon receipt by the Secretary of the State Textbook Committee of a replacement bond provided by the receiving company.
    • It is required that a publisher notify the office of the Secretary of the State Textbook Committee of any and all price reductions, either temporary or permanent, of materials under contract with this state. Those price reductions then become permanent and replace the existing costs on the approved contracts. All price reductions are permanent until the contract expires or a substitution with a price increase is approved by the State Textbook Committee. Temporary sale prices are not permitted.

[Source: Added at 11 Ok Reg 707, eff 11-22-93 (emergency); Added at 11 Ok Reg 1013, eff 1-7-94 (emergency); Added at 11 Ok Reg 3553, eff 6-27-94 ; Amended at 12 Ok Reg 3301, eff 6-27-95 ; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 1834, eff 6-11-04

Important Outside Links

• AIM Center
  The Accessible Instructional Materials Center of the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (NIMAS) Web site
• Oklahoma ABLE Tech Accessible Instructional Materials and Assistive Technology Web site

Contacts:

Oklahoma State Textbook Committee
2500 N. Lincoln Boulevard, Room 315
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105

Instructional Materials: (405) 521-3456