State Statute Section 79-734 provides for an appropriation for monies for the purchase of textbooks for loan to students attending private approved or accredited schools.  Rule 4 (“Regulations for Textbook Loans to Children Enrolled in Private Schools in Nebraska”) is the applicable rule for the textbook loan process and the disbursement of the monies.

2020/21 Appropriation

The total 2020/21 appropriation, for the purchase of textbooks for loan during the 2021/22 school year, and including carryover funds from the 2019/20 appropriation, is $521,200.77.

Documents (pdf format)

Reminders

• School district’s policies and procedures should align with the provisions of Rule 4 and Section 79-734 R.R.S.
• Rule 4 appendices cannot be altered or revised in any manner.  The individual appendices can be accessed from the links above.
• The books purchased under this program must be kept under separate inventory, and reissued annually at the request of parents of children attending approved or accredited non-public schools (Rule 4, Section 004.07 and Appendix A).
• An “Application for Loan of Textbooks” (Appendix A) must be completed annually by parents of children who wish to borrow textbooks from the public school district (not by the private school officials or employees).  These applications are due annually to the public school district by January 15 for the following school year (Rule 4, Section 003 and Appendix A).
• Textbook shall mean any instructional material that is designated for use by individual students in classroom instruction as the principal source of study material, in any of grades kindergarten through grade 12 in the public school(s) of each school district.  The following, if designated for use by individual students as the principal source of study material, are likewise to be considered textbooks for purposes of this chapter:  multiple texts; electronic and digital subscriptions; and hard-copy, write-in work texts if accessible by students pursuant to a multi-year subscription entered into by the school district.  Instructional material that is in a non-tangible, electronic or digital format, e.g. web-based (on-line) material, accessible by students through a subscription or license agreement entered into by the school district, is a textbook if the individual student’s access ceases within the timeframe described in Section 003.01 of this chapter.  The following are not to be considered textbooks: library books, teacher’s editions, hard-copy supplemental workbooks and any book or material designated for classroom, and not individual use (e.g. “Big Books” and the like) (Rule 4, Section 002.03).
• There is a limit to the number of textbooks to be loaned per student (Rule 4, Section 003.03 and Appendix A).  School districts will need to ensure that any textbook that comes in sets, volumes, or levels complies with the definition of textbook (Rule 4, Section 002.03) and does not exceed the per student limit. [See Question 6 of the Frequently Asked Questions document for further information.]
• Completion of the Appendix C (Application for Distribution of Funds) is contingent on the Appendix A’s (Application for Loan of Textbooks) submitted to the public school district by January 15.
• Carryover of any unspent funds remaining after textbooks are ordered and received must be noted on Line 9 of next year’s Application C.  An explanation for the carryover must be attached to the application (Rule 4, Section 004.04E and Appendix C).
• Separate accounting must be maintained for receipts and expenditures associated with the program.

Program Contact

• Beth Bolte: (402) 471-2795 or beth.bolte@nebraska.gov