This amendment prescribes the procedures governing the adoption of instructional materials for use by Florida school districts.

 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

State Board of Education

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

6A-7.0710Instructional Materials Policies and Procedures

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: This amendment prescribes the procedures governing the adoption of instructional materials for use by Florida school districts.

SUMMARY: The rule prescribes the policies, procedures, and specifications for submission and review of instructional materials for adoption by the Commissioner of Education.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION: The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has been prepared by the Agency.

The department has determined that as a result of this rule there are no changes in costs to the department, state or local entities, publishing companies or manufacturers. The rule codifies instructional material specifications and policies and does not place any additional regulations or barriers on the publishing industry, including small publishing companies, as they must already comply with the statutory requirements and departmental policies.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1001.02(1), 1006.34(1), FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1006.29, 1006.30, 1006.31, 1006.32, 1006.33, 1006.34, 1006.36, 1006.38, FS.

A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:

DATE AND TIME: May 20, 2016, 9:00 a.m.

PLACE: DoubleTree by Hilton, 5780 Major Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32819

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Mary Jane Tappen, Executive Vice Chancellor of K-12 Public Schools at [e-mail]

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

6A-7.0710 Instructional Materials Evaluation Policies and Procedures.

(1) Publishers and manufacturers of instructional materials may submit sealed bids or proposals for the adoption of instructional materials by the Department of Education in response to the advertisement required by s. 1006.33(1), F.S.  The Policies and Procedures Specifications for the Florida Instructional Materials Adoption (DOS Link) is hereby incorporated by reference (effective June 2016) and will be available on the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Instructional Materials website at http://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/instructional-materials. The policies and procedures for state adoption of instructional materials are prescribed in “Policies and Procedures for the Florida Instructional Materials Adoption 2011,” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00244) which is hereby incorporated by reference in this rule. The specifications for instructional materials for 2011-2012 adoption of Social Studies instructional materials are prescribed in “2010 Social Studies Specifications for the 2011-2012 Florida State Adoption of Instructional Materials,” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00245) which is hereby incorporated by reference in this rule. These documents may be found at http://www.fldoe.org/bii/instruct_mat or by contacting the Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 424, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.

(2) Publishers and manufacturers of instructional materials. The following forms shall be submitted by instructional materials publishers or manufacturers when proposing instructional materials for adoption and are hereby incorporated by reference in this rule to become effective December 29, 2011. These forms may be found on the Publisher Registration and online Bid Process Portal at https://app2.fldoe.org/BII/InstructMat/Publisher/Secure/MainMenu.aspx at http://www.fldoe.org/bii/instruct_mat or by contacting the Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 424, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.

(a) Form IM1, Manage Bids (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(b) Form IM2, Bid Deposit (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(c) Form IM3, Bid Signature Sheet (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(d) Form IM4, Bid Details (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(e) Form IM5a, Publisher Registration (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(f) Form IM5b, Publisher Sales/Other Representatives (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(g) Form IM6, Publisher Acknowledgement Form (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(h) Form IM7, Standards Alignment Form (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(i) Form IM8, Publisher Questionnaire (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(j) Form IM9, Warranty Form M (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(k) Form IM12, UDL Questionnaire (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(l) Form IM13, Assessment Fees (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(m) Form IM14, Standards Alignment Assurance (DOS Link) (Effective June 2016)

(a) Form IM1, 2011-2012 Florida Instructional Materials Adoption Publisher’s Questionnaire

(http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00795).

(b) Form IM2, Correlation, Florida Department of Education, Instructional Materials Correlation Course Standards

(http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00796).

(c) Form IM3, State of Florida, Instructional Materials Bid, List of Intent(s) to Bid

(http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00797).

(d) Form IM4, Bid Form (Detailed), Florida Department of Education, Contract Period: 201X-201X

(http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00798).

(e) Form IM5, State of Florida, Instructional Materials Bid Signature Sheet

(http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00799).

(f) Form IM6, Acknowledgement of Publisher for the 201X-201X, State Instructional Materials Adoption

(http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00614).

(g) Form IM7, Instructional Materials Publisher Registration and Online Bid Process

(http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00800).

(3) Instructional materials submitted by publishers or manufacturers for adoption will be evaluated as follows: The Manufacturing Standards and Specifications for Textbooks (“MSST”), 2009 Revised Edition, are the official minimum standards and specifications for the physical construction of instructional materials. The MSST, developed by the National Association of State Textbook Administrators (NASTA), are hereby incorporated by reference in this rule and are available through the Advisory Commission on Textbook Specifications, Two Armand Drive, Suite 1B, Palm Coast, FL 32317-2612, www.nasta.org. Form B, State of Florida, Statement of Publisher Submitting Books for Adoption (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00616), and Form M, State of Florida, Statement of Publisher Submitting Electronic Media for Adoption (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00617), are hereby incorporated by reference in this rule to become effective December 29, 2011. These forms may be accessed by contacting the Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 424, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.

(a) The student and teacher editions of the major tool of instruction, along with any ancillary materials deemed appropriate by the Department, will be evaluated for alignment to the applicable state standards, course descriptions, and other requirements outlined in the specifications. The Department will develop rubrics for each adoption based on alignment to appropriate course descriptions, state standards, and specifications.

(b) Electronic samples of the student and teacher editions, along with any ancillary materials deemed appropriate for sampling by the Department, will be evaluated. The electronic samples must be in final form and must be made available for review on a website or server developed, hosted, or contracted by the publisher or manufacturer by the date established by the Department.  Hardcopy samples will not be accepted for evaluation.

(c) Publishers may provide a virtual presentation to the state instructional materials reviewers on the merits of the materials submitted for adoption. Publishers who choose to provide a virtual presentation must prerecord the presentation for reviewers to access during the evaluation process and must limit the presentation to no more than fifteen (15) minutes in length. Publishers who choose to provide a virtual presentation must make the presentation available for review on a website developed, hosted, or contracted by the publisher or manufacturer by the date established by the Department. 

(d) State and district instructional materials reviewers will evaluate materials utilizing the Department’s instructional materials database and online evaluation system accessible through the main instructional materials website http://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/instructional-materials. The Instructional Materials Reviewer Portal (DOS Link) is hereby incorporated by reference and effective June 2016. The state instructional materials reviewers shall be state or national experts in the academic content area being reviewed for adoption. The state instructional materials reviewers will generally hold one or more of the following credentials:             

1. A baccalaureate degree or higher in the field or a related field,

2. Certification in the field or a related field,

3. Substantial experience in the field, or

4. Recognition as an expert in the field. Such recognition may include, but is not limited to, awards received or publications related to the academic content area.

(e) State instructional materials reviewers must complete Form IM15, Affidavit of State Instructional Materials Reviewers (Reviewer) (DOS Link) which is available on the instructional materials website http://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/instructional-materials and is hereby incorporated by reference (effective June 2016). The original must be filed with the department before the reviewer completes the reviewer training and is assigned materials to review. 

(f) The approved adopted list and the associated reviewer ratings from the standards alignment portion of the state reviewer rubric will be published on the instructional materials website http://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/instructional-materials.

(4) Technology Specification Guidelines (DOS Link) will be available to publishers and manufacturers on the instructional materials website http://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/instructional-materials and are hereby incorporated by reference (Effective June 2016) State instructional materials reviewers and school district reviewers.

(a) The Affidavit of State Instructional Materials Reviewers (Reviewer), Form IM8, (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00801) shall be completed by state instructional materials reviewers. This form is hereby incorporated by reference in this rule to become effective December 29, 2011, and may be found at http://www.fldoe.org/bii/instruct_mat or by contacting the Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 424, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.

(b) Both state instructional materials reviewers and school district reviewers shall utilize the online instructional materials evaluation instrument in evaluating instructional materials submitted for adoption. The evaluation instrument (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00619), Form IMEI-01, Instructional Materials Review Evaluation Instrument, is hereby incorporated by reference in this rule to become effective December 29, 2011, and may be found at http://www.fldoe.org/bii/instruct_mat or by contacting the Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 424, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.

Rulemaking Authority 1001.02(1), 1006.34(1) FS. Law Implemented 1006.29, 1006.30, 1006.31, 1006.32, 1006.33, 1006.34, 1006.36, 1006.38 FS. History–New 12-29-11,

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Hershel Lyons, Chancellor, K-12 Public Schools

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Pam Stewart, Commissioner, Department of Education

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: March 9, 2016

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: November 6, 2015