SECTION 66.1311. Special Instructional Materials

(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.

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