At the request of ACSA, the Legislative Analyst's Office conducted research and issued a report on the cost of textbooks and the adoption of instructional materials. The LAO identifies a number of problem areas and recommends several reforms aimed at lowering IM costs, as well as increasing choice for schools and the overall effectiveness of the process.
Schools have become increasingly concerned about the fast rising costs of adopting instructional materials for some time. ACSA has been working on this issue for some time, but until recently was unable to make any headway in the Capitol. But after much work, ACSA was able to sponsor a bill that passed last session that, beginning in 2013-14, will at least separate new textbook adoptions in the two biggest subject areas, English language arts and mathematics, so they don't come so close together. But that still left much work in this area to be done.
The LAO agrees. In “Reforming California's Instructional Material Process” examined data for a ten-year period, from 1993-2003 and found that even when adjusting for inflation, IM costs for K-12 students rose by 80 percent, or $100 per student. The report states this was close to double the rate of cost growth for other states and four times the growth rate for “all other” K-12 instructional spending.
“Educators' hands are tied given the current textbook purchasing process,” said ACSA Legislative Advocate Sherry Skelly Griffith. “We have to buy what the state requires, we are not allowed to negotiate prices and we are given an inadequate amount of funding to cover the true costs. If we are to continue to have high quality textbooks the state must recognize the cost of those textbooks and fund them adequately.”
To address these issues, the LAO report issues a set of six recommendations.
o Use fewer sets of evaluation criteria.
o Streamline review process.
o Offer districts voluntary extension of already adopted materials.
o Shift focus back to core program by eliminating gratis items.
o Cap mid-cycle price increases.
o Enhance information sharing.
The full LAO report can be accessed at www.lao.ca.gov.