August 15, 2005

 

Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and School Principals:

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS MARKETING PRACTICES

This letter is to remind you of the requirements in the California Education Code (EC) relating to school officials and marketing practices by publishers of instructional materials. Acceptance of free trips, dinners or any other thing of value, such as golf fees, is prohibited by EC Section 60072, which states:

No school official shall accept any emolument, money or other valuable
thing, or any inducement to directly or indirectly introduce, recommend,
vote for, or otherwise influence the adoption or purchase of any
instructional material.

EC Section 60010(j) defines "school official" as including "any member of any governing board, any city, county, city and county, or district superintendent of schools, and any principal, teacher, or other employee under his or her charge."

The prohibition set forth in EC Section 60072 applies to the acceptance of inducements from all publishers of instructional materials, not just to publishers with materials on a state adoption list. Also, the prohibition is broadly conceived, applying to inducements to directly or indirectly influence the adoption or purchase of instructional materials.

Please inform all of your staff of these statutory requirements to ensure compliance and to ensure that ethical practices are consistently followed. We are also sending a reminder letter to all publishers.

If you have any questions on this subject, please contact Thomas Adams, Director, Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division, at (916) 319-0663, or by e-mail at tadams@cde.ca.gov.

Sue Stickel, Deputy Suprintendent
Curriculumand Instruction Branch