Textbooks on line OK'ed by California Senate

The California State Senate has agreed to allow school districts to use state text book funds to purchase on-line testbooks.

The Senate Bill has to be approved by the California State Assembly and signed by the governor.

I believe it is likely to get both Assembly approval and the governor's signature. Everyone wants to appear high tech especially elected officials. I predict very little opposition.

Here are a few paragraphs from the article in the LATimes:


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-school-books12-2009may12,0,3863262.story

Senate approves software as an alternative to textbooks

L.A. Unified supports the bill, which moves to the Assembly.
By Patrick McGreevy
May 12, 2009

Reporting from Sacramento -- California teenagers may be spared having to lug back-breaking loads of textbooks to school under a proposal that would make it easier for campuses to use electronic instructional material.

Allowing high schools greater freedom to spend state money on software to put textbooks on laptops and other electronic devices was backed by the Los Angeles Unified School District and approved Monday by the state Senate.
The Assembly will consider the proposal, drafted by state Sen. Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara). "Today's K-12 students represent the first generation to have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, video games, digital music players, video cameras, cellphones and all the other gadgets of the digital age," Alquist said after the 36-0 Senate vote.

"Today's students are no longer the students of blackboards and chalk."

California law limits how school districts can use state funds for instructional materials, requiring them to purchase enough textbooks for all students before spending money on electronic material.
As a result, some districts have purchased materials in both book form and software or have refrained from buying software, Alquist said.

SB 247 would allow districts to satisfy textbook requirements if they can provide each student with hardware and software that meet the same accessibility requirements that printed textbooks offer.

The rest of the article is at the URL listed above.