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FAQ's
Below are answers to our most frequently
asked questions.
- Are all resident
pupils in kindergarten through grade 12 eligible for the
loan of textbooks?
- What is the definition of a
textbook?
- What materials
are excluded under the textbook loan law?
- What is the
obligation of the parents of pupils attending
nonpublic schools?
- Is the nonpublic
school administrator required to submit collectively
the parents’ requests for textbooks?
- May a public
school district monetarily reimburse a nonpublic
school pupil for textbooks that pupil purchased
privately?
- Are students who
are receiving home instruction eligible to borrow
textbooks under the Textbook Loan program?
- Is it my
obligation as a parent to pick up my child’s books
at BOCES?
- If during the
course of the year, my child no longer attends the
nonpublic school, can I leave the books at the
school so that the school can return them?
- Are the
nonpublic schools responsible for storing books no
longer in use?
1. Are all resident
pupils in kindergarten through grade 12 eligible for the
loan of textbooks?
Yes. All resident pupils are eligible for the loan of
textbooks.
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2. What is the definition of a
textbook?
A textbook is any book or a book substitute, including
hard-covered or paperback books, workbooks designed to
be written in and used up, certain newspapers and news
magazines and manuals which a pupil is required to use
as a text or a text-substitute in a particular class or
program as a primary source of study material intended
to implement a major part of a State of local
curriculum.
Pursuant to Sections 207 and 701(2) of the Education Law
as amended by Chapter 405 of the Laws of 1999, textbooks
include courseware or other content-based instructional
materials in electronic format, which means any
instructional medium that provides specific nonsectarian
educational content to students via a computer or other
electronic system and is required as a primary source of
study material intended to implement a major portion of
a state of local curriculum.
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3. What materials are excluded under
the textbook loan law?
Reference materials – encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases,
and general and special dictionaries, except that
dictionaries individually assigned to all pupils in a
particular class or program as a textbook substitute are
considered as textbooks.
Supplementary materials – supplementary textbooks,
novels and other fiction, magazines, newspapers, and
audiovisual materials normally housed in the school
library or instructional materials center for short-term
use by pupils.
Other materials – tests and testing materials, teachers’
editions of textbooks, review books, and materials in
kit form.
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4. What is the obligation of the
parents of pupils attending nonpublic schools?
Parents of pupils attending nonpublic schools must
submit to the board of education of their district of
residence (or its representative) a written request for
the textbooks needed by their children during the coming
year. This request should include the information
necessary to provide the books such as title, author,
publisher, and copyright date. The request may be
submitted through he nonpublic school. These
loaned books must be returned by the parent to the loan
service at the end of the school year or to the school
district office.
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5. Is the nonpublic school
administrator required to submit collectively the
parents’ requests for textbooks?
No. However, such an arrangement is allowed and can
expedite the textbook loan process. Many school
districts have made such arrangements with nonpublic
school administrators and they have proven to be
effective. A school may also ask each parent to
fill out the loan form and submit it to BOCES
individually.
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6. May a public school district
monetarily reimburse a nonpublic school pupil for
textbooks that pupil purchased privately?
No. Education Law 701 statutorily mandates that
districts purchase and loan textbooks to resident public
and nonpublic school pupils. This means actual books; a
district may not monetarily reimburse a nonpublic school
pupil for privately purchased textbooks. To do so
violates the New York State Constitution, which
prohibits a gift of public funds for private benefit.
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7. Are students who are receiving
home instruction eligible to borrow textbooks under the
Textbook Loan program?
No. Students who are instructed at home are not eligible
to receive textbooks, since they do not meet the
provision in Education Law 701 of being enrolled in
either a public or private school.
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8. Is it my obligation as a parent
to pick up my child’s books at BOCES?
Generally, the loan service delivers to the nonpublic
school during the last week of August for those students
whose textbook requests were received by the loan
request deadline. In cases of late orders, course changes
after the start of school, and late return or non-return
of textbooks from the previous school year, parents may
be asked to pick up books at the BOCES office.
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9. If during the course of the year,
my child no longer attends the nonpublic school, can I
leave the books at the school so that the school can
return them?
No. It is the parents’ responsibility as the borrower to
return the books to the BOCES office or their school
district in a timely manner.
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10. Are the nonpublic schools
responsible for storing books no longer in use?
No. The books belong to the school district and are its
responsibility. The nonpublic school administrator
should contact BOCES to make arrangements for their
return to the BOCES central inventory.
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Textbooks for Non-Public Schools Loan Service