A. All textbooks adopted, purchased and distributed to school districts shall be furnished free of cost to the school children of such districts and shall be owned by such districts and each district shall mark each textbook with an appropriate number or other identification as deemed necessary to maintain proper records thereof. Each district board of education shall ensure that all textbooks necessary for completion of assigned course work are routinely available for every child enrolled in the schools of the district for the child's personal use in a manner that will enable the child to complete assigned course work. The State Board of Education shall maintain a replacement program so that all textbooks for student use are in satisfactory condition. Nothing herein shall prevent the purchase, from local school district funds, of any adopted textbook or any additional and supplementary textbooks if the board of education of any school district deems it necessary to make such purchases in order to establish and maintain the highest standards of excellence of its schools.

B. 1. Each school child who has been issued a set of textbooks pursuant to this section, and the parents or legal guardian of such child shall be responsible to the school district for the return of or payment for such textbook issued to the child which is not returned to the school.

2. The State Board of Education is authorized to promulgate rules requiring the return of or payment for any textbook used by a school child which is not returned to the school. Such rules shall provide for certain exceptions to such policies. Local boards shall include considerations for the inability to pay for the textbook, and reasons for the nonreturn of the textbook. A local school board is authorized to withhold transcripts, or other records of the school relating to any school child who fails to return a textbook or make payment for the textbook if not returned. For the purpose of this subsection, the term "transcript" shall include any record of a grade or grades given to a student by a teacher.

3. The provisions of this subsection shall not authorize the State Board of Education to prevent any school child from actually receiving a grade he is otherwise entitled to for completion of a course of study, from graduating upon completion of the requirements, or from obtaining any records or information supplied to the school or otherwise owned by the child.

Laws 1971, c. 281, § 16-121, eff. July 2, 1971; Laws 1985, c. 83, § 1, emerg. eff. May 23, 1985; Laws 1993, c. 229, § 18, eff. July 1, 1993.