(a) It shall be the duty of the State Board of Education to negotiate with publishers of textbooks or authors of textbooks for the preparation and publication, or either, of special textbooks for use in the public schools of the state. If anyone undertakes the preparation of a special textbook for the purpose of making the textbook more suitable and desirable for use in the public schools of the state, the State Superintendent of Education shall submit the specially prepared textbook or specially arranged textbook to the State Textbook Committee for its findings and ratings as to its desirability and suitability for the purposes offered and these findings and ratings shall be certified to the State Board of Education for its consideration.

(b) If the State Board of Education is unable to obtain what it considers a desirable contract for a special textbook on any particular subject with publishers whose books have been given its approval, the State Board of Education may require the State Superintendent of Education to negotiate with publishers or persons to secure the preparation of a special textbook on the subject or to secure the submission of other texts on the subject for consideration by the State Textbook Committee. The State Board of Education may take other proper action to secure an advantageous contract in behalf of the patrons of the public schools of the state. No special textbook shall be adopted by the board of education unless the textbook has been considered for the purposes for which it was intended to be used by the State Textbook Committee.