Can Texas public school textbook funds be spent on computers and other equipment?

TX AG Opinion GA-0444: Can textbook funds buy computer hardware?

Plain-English summary

The Chair of the Texas State Board of Education asked the Attorney General whether money set aside for public school textbooks could be spent on computer hardware and other equipment, or whether it had to be used only to convey curriculum content to students. The Attorney General concluded that textbook funds may not buy hardware.

The answer turned on how the Education Code defines its terms. Section 31.021 creates the "state textbook fund" and directs the State Board to set aside, each year, enough money from the available school fund for the board, school districts, and charter schools to purchase and distribute the necessary textbooks. Section 31.002 then defines "textbook" as a book, a system of instructional materials, or a combination, that conveys information to the student or contributes to the learning process, or an "electronic textbook." An "electronic textbook" is itself defined broadly to include computer software, CD-ROMs, online services, and other electronic means of conveying information to the student.

What neither definition includes is hardware. The same section of the statute defines "hardware," a device, or equipment as "technological equipment," a separate category. Because the legislature defined "textbook" (including electronic textbook) and "technological equipment" as two different things, and the statutory language is plain, the Attorney General concluded the textbook fund may be used only to convey information, including curriculum content, to students. It may not be used to buy hardware or other equipment that falls under the separate "technological equipment" definition.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Texas substantially overhauled its instructional-materials and textbook-funding system after 2006, including changes that created an instructional materials allotment and that addressed technology and equipment purchases. The section numbers and definitions described here may no longer read the same way. Anyone deciding today how a school district can spend instructional-materials or technology money should check the current Education Code and Texas Education Agency rules rather than rely on the 2006 framework.

Who this opinion affected (as of 2006)

The State Board of Education: The opinion answered the Board's question by holding that the state textbook fund it administers could not be tapped to buy computer hardware or other "technological equipment."

School districts and charter schools: The opinion meant that textbook-fund money distributed to districts and open-enrollment charter schools had to go toward textbooks and electronic textbooks that convey content, not toward the devices that run them.

School technology and budget officials: The opinion drew a line between content (textbooks and electronic textbooks, payable from the textbook fund) and the hardware that delivers it ("technological equipment," not payable from that fund), so equipment had to be funded from another source.

Common questions

Could a district use textbook money to buy laptops or other computers?
According to the opinion, no. Computer hardware fell under the separate definition of "technological equipment," which the textbook fund could not pay for.

Does an "electronic textbook" count as a textbook?
Yes. The opinion noted that the definition of "textbook" expressly includes an "electronic textbook," such as software, CD-ROMs, and online services that convey information to students.

So what could textbook funds be used for?
The opinion concluded the funds had to be used exclusively to convey information, including curriculum content, to students, whether through printed textbooks or electronic textbooks.

Why did the definitions matter so much?
The opinion applied the rule that a statute's plain and common meaning controls. Because "textbook" and "technological equipment" were defined as different categories in the same section, hardware could not be folded into "textbook."

Background and statutory framework

Section 31.021 of the Education Code creates the state textbook fund and requires the State Board of Education to "annually set aside out of the available school fund of the state an amount sufficient for the board, school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools to purchase and distribute the necessary textbooks" for the state's students (Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 31.021(b) (Vernon 2006)). Section 31.002 defines "textbook" to include an "electronic textbook" (§ 31.002(3)), and defines "electronic textbook" to mean computer software, interactive videodisc, magnetic media, CD-ROM, computer courseware, online services, or other electronic means of conveying information to the student (§ 31.002(1)). The same section defines "technological equipment" to mean "hardware, a device, or equipment" necessary for instructional use in the classroom or professional use by a classroom teacher (§ 31.002(4)).

Applying the rule that a court construes a statute first by the plain and common meaning of its words, and adopts that plain meaning when the language is unambiguous (Fitzgerald v. Advanced Spine Fixation Sys., Inc., 996 S.W.2d 864, 865 (Tex. 1999), quoting Dodson v. Bunton, 17 S.W. 507, 508 (Tex. 1891)), the opinion concluded that section 31.002 is plain on its face. A textbook includes an electronic textbook but does not include computer hardware and other equipment, because such hardware is separately defined as "technological equipment" (§ 31.002(1), (3)-(4)). The opinion therefore held that textbook funds, including for electronic textbooks, must be used exclusively to convey information, including curriculum content, to students, and may not be used to purchase hardware or other equipment defined as "technological equipment."

Citations

Statutes:

• Tex. Educ. Code Ann. §§ 31.021, 31.021(b), 31.002, 31.002(1), 31.002(3), 31.002(4), 31.002(1), (3)-(4) (Vernon 2006)

Cases:

• Fitzgerald v. Advanced Spine Fixation Sys., Inc., 996 S.W.2d 864, 865 (Tex. 1999)
• Dodson v. Bunton, 17 S.W. 507, 508 (Tex. 1891)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-0444
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2006/ga0444.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain - the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT

July 18, 2006

The Honorable Geraldine "Tincy" Miller
Chair, State Board of Education
1701 North Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas 78701-1494

Opinion No. GA-0444

Re: Whether funds set aside for textbooks may be used for the purchase of computer hardware and other equipment (RQ-0436-GA)

Dear Ms. Miller:

You ask whether funds set aside for public school textbooks may be used for the purchase of computer hardware and other equipment, or whether those funds must be used "exclusively or predominantly for the purpose of conveying curriculum content to students."[1]

Section 31.021 of the Education Code creates the "state textbook fund." TEX. EDUC. CODE ANN. § 31.021 (Vernon 2006). That statute requires the State Board of Education to "annually set aside out of the available school fund of the state an amount sufficient for the board, school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools to purchase and distribute the necessary textbooks for the use of the students of this state for the following school year." Id. § 31.021(b). "Textbook" is defined as "a book, a system of instructional materials, or a combination of a book and supplementary instructional materials that conveys information to the student or otherwise contributes to the learning process, or an electronic textbook." Id. § 31.002(3). An "electronic textbook" is defined as "computer software, interactive videodisc, magnetic media, CD-ROM, computer courseware, on-line services, an electronic medium, or other means of conveying information to the student or otherwise contributing to the learning process through electronic means." Id. § 31.002(1).

Neither the definition of "textbook" nor that of "electronic textbook" indicates that a textbook or an electronic textbook includes hardware or other equipment. Indeed, in the same section of the statute, the terms "hardware" and "equipment" are included within the definition of "technological equipment":

(4) "Technological equipment" means hardware, a device, or equipment necessary for:

(A) instructional use in the classroom, including to gain access to or enhance the use of an electronic textbook; or

(B) professional use by a classroom teacher.

Id. § 31.002(4).

The Texas Supreme Court has held that "it is cardinal law in Texas that a court construes a statute, 'first, by looking at the plain and common meaning of the statute's words.' If the meaning of the statutory language is unambiguous, we adopt, with few exceptions, the interpretation supported by the plain meaning of the provision's words and terms." Fitzgerald v. Advanced Spine Fixation Sys., Inc., 996 S.W.2d 864, 865 (Tex. 1999). As the court noted, "'[w]hen the purpose of a legislative enactment is obvious from the language of the law itself, there is nothing left to construction. In such case it is vain to ask the courts to attempt to liberate an invisible spirit, supposed to live concealed within the body of the law.'" Id. at 866 (quoting Dodson v. Bunton, 17 S.W. 507, 508 (Tex. 1891)).

Section 31.002 of the Education Code is plain and unambiguous on its face. A "textbook," by definition, includes an "electronic textbook." A textbook does not include computer hardware and other equipment, because such hardware and other equipment is separately defined as "technological equipment" in section 31.002. TEX. EDUC. CODE ANN. § 31.002(1), (3)-(4) (Vernon 2006). We conclude that funds set aside for textbooks, including electronic textbooks, must be used exclusively for the purpose of conveying information, including curriculum content, to students, and that such funds may not be used for the purchase of hardware or other equipment defined as "technological equipment."

SUMMARY

Funds set aside for textbooks, including electronic textbooks, must be used exclusively for the purpose of conveying information, including curriculum content, to students, and such funds may not be used for the purchase of hardware or other equipment defined as "technological equipment."

GREG ABBOTT
Attorney General of Texas

KENT C. SULLIVAN
First Assistant Attorney General

ELLEN L. WITT
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

NANCY S. FULLER
Chair, Opinion Committee

Rick Gilpin
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

Footnotes

1. Letter from Honorable Geraldine "Tincy" Miller, Chair, State Board of Education, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas at 3 (Jan. 21, 2006) (on file with the Opinion Committee, also available at http://www.oag.state.tx.us).