Board staff explain ELA textbook adoption timeline and local options after literacy task‑force review

Alabama State Board members on Dec. 9 received an overview of the state textbook adoption process for English language arts and career‑technical materials and clarification about the relationship between the literacy task force’s recommendations and the department’s textbook bid process.

State textbook staff explained the formal bid and review timeline: (1) courses of study must be adopted before the textbook review begins; (2) publishers respond to a request for proposals and submit materials to statewide library review sites; (3) a governor‑appointed state textbook committee (plus department appointees) reviews submissions using standardized rubrics; and (4) the department executes contracts and submits them for gubernatorial signature before making the award public.

Staff addressed confusion generated by public inquiries that the department received after the literacy task‑force announced recommended early‑reading programs. They said 1 literacy task‑force‑recommended program could not be included in the state textbook bid review because its published copyright date predated the adoption bid requirement (the department’s timeline required materials to be 2018 or later). Another recommended program was submitted and reviewed; committee scores and the full confidential review packet are included in board materials.

Local adoption path: Staff explained that if a publisher’s work was not reviewed in the state bid (for example, because of a publication‑date technicality) the local district may still adopt that program through its own local adoption process. A district that adopts a non‑state‑reviewed textbook should complete the department’s local‑adoption form and attach publisher documentation explaining why the title was not submitted or considered in the state bid. Staff reiterated that materials explicitly rejected by the state committee cannot later be adopted with state textbook funds.

Why it matters: Several board members and superintendents have asked whether districts with only state textbook dollars lose options when the state review includes only a subset of available programs. Staff said local boards retain discretionary authority to adopt non‑reviewed programs using state money only where the program was not rejected by the state process and the district follows the department’s local adoption procedure.

Additional notes: Staff said public library review sites received publishers’ submission packages during the review window; the department encouraged districts and the public to consult those packages during the 30‑day public comment period. Staff also described the contract execution process — vendors must return fully executed contracts to the department and the governor must sign before awards become public — and warned some publishers did not return contracts promptly last adoption cycle.

What’s next: The board packet includes a draft resolution seeking approval of the textbook‑committee recommendations at the January board meeting. Staff said they will send clarifying guidance to districts about the local adoption process and how to document purchases for state textbook funds if districts choose materials that were not included in the state review.