Section 7-11-Two-4 - PETITION PROCESSMississippi Code Ann. § 37-43-31 contains a provision whereby five or more school boards may petition the SBE to add a book or series of textbooks to the state-adopted list. If a district so chooses to petition the SBE, the following policies and procedures should be adhered to:
A. School districts may petition the SBE to allow for the requisition of non-adopted textbooks. 1. Five or more school boards may petition the SBE to add one or more textbooks or series of textbooks to the state adopted list. The SBE will have sixty days to act upon the petition. If it is not acted upon in this time period, the petition shall be deemed as approved.2. A school board may petition for the requisition of "new and innovative" textbooks that have become available since the last textbook adoption in the respective subject area.3. Textbooks may be procured through the petition process from the regional textbook depository. Since non-adopted textbooks may now be purchased with state funds, it is no longer necessary to follow the steps of the petition process. However, if the district or districts should choose to go the petition route, the SBE will consider the petition for approval.B. Consideration shall be given to the following by the local school districts in the submission of petitions under any of the above-named provisions:1. Each district that submits a petition must secure at least one copy of each textbook included in the petition for review and evaluation purposes. Each district submitting a petition shall select a committee of no fewer than three individuals to review and evaluate each textbook or series included in the petition. These individuals must have expertise in the subject area being reviewed, and at least two of these individuals must be teachers. Each reviewer/evaluator shall utilize and submit a copy of the review rubric used to evaluate the instructional material. Each textbook will be reviewed based on minimum quality indicators, which include but not limited to alignment to the Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards.2. Each district submitting a petition shall provide a rationale as to why currently adopted textbooks are not sufficient to meet the needs for the courses for which the non-adopted textbooks are intended.3. All textbooks requisitioned through this process shall be purchased by the petitioning district. Districts may submit petitions at any time during the school year.4. Each school district submitting a petition for non-adopted textbooks shall receive approval of its school board prior to submission, and it must state on the petition the date of such board action.5. Each district submitting a petition request shall state on the petition the quantity of each title petitioned along with information regarding the publisher. Publishers/vendors having textbooks adopted through the petition process must be willing to submit a bid, execute a contract and bond with the state of Mississippi, and provide a stock of textbooks in the regional depository sufficient to meet all reasonable demands. Consequently, school districts must initially determine if the publisher whose textbooks are being petitioned is willing to meet these requirements before submitting a petition. Each publisher whose textbooks are petitioned must supply one copy of each student and teacher edition to the MDE Office of Instructional Materials and Library Media to be used for review purposes. If the textbook is subsequently approved by the SBE, it will be placed on file for review. Contracts with publishers/vendors of successfully petitioned textbooks will have the same expiration dates as all other textbooks in like subject areas.
C. The MDE shall designate one person, with expertise in the respective subject area(s) for which textbooks are petitioned, to review the petition and the textbook, and recommend to the SBE the appropriate action to be taken regarding the addition of the textbooks to the state adopted list.D. Districts receiving SBE approval on petitions will be notified promptly, and action will be taken to add the requested textbooks to the state-adopted list as soon as possible.E. School districts considering the petition process should remember the following:1. The petition process requires considerable effort to demonstrate the quality and alignment of the content.2. The petition must be approved by the local school board.3. The publisher of the petitioned textbook will need to submit a bid and execute a contract and bond upon approval by the SBE.4. State textbook law now permits the purchase of non-adopted textbooks directly from the publisher resulting in a timely delivery if this approach is selected over the petition process.7 Miss. Code. R. 11-Two-4