SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

SENATE, No. 1512

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED:  JUNE 25, 2020

 

      The Senate Education Committee favorably reports Senate Bill No. 1512.

      This bill requires the Department of Education to develop and maintain a list of textbook vendors that incorporate inclusive material in their textbooks and to distribute the list to school districts and make the list publicly available on the department’s website.  “Inclusive material” as defined in the bill means content in a textbook that accurately portrays the diversity of our society, in such areas as gender, race, ethnicity, disability, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation.  Under the bill, when a school district determines to acquire a new textbook, the district will be required to select the textbook from a vendor that is included on the department’s list.  The bill  does, however, allow a school district to propose to the Commissioner of Education a textbook vendor that is not currently on the department’s list and to acquire and use textbooks from that vendor upon the approval of the commissioner.  The requirements of the bill would not apply to textbooks acquired by a school district using the Statewide textbook bank created pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2002, c.98 (C.18A:34-3) or to textbooks that require replacement due to damage or loss.