It is the duty of all school officials to acquaint themselves with the school laws and regulations and to see that they are implemented.

The school board shall enter into written agreements with teachers before they begin their duties, but no teacher may be employed or paid from public funds who is not certified to teach in the public schools of Virginia. Contracts with teachers shall be executed on behalf of the board by the chairman and the clerk.

The time for opening and closing schools shall be prescribed by the local school board upon recommendation of the division superintendent, provided that the daily program for students in grades 1 through 12 shall average at least 5 ½ hours, not including meal intermissions. If the required program length is maintained, the local school board may approve occasional shortened days for staff development, conferences, planning, and other activities designed to improve the instructional program, provided that no more than one day in each five-day week may be shortened to no less than four hours. The daily program for kindergarten shall be at least three hours, not including meal intermissions. The student day here described shall be considered a minimum day rather than an optimum day; a longer student day is encouraged to accommodate the instructional program and student needs.

When exceptions in the length of the daily program are necessary for special education, alternative education, double shifts, and scheduling or other unusual situations, the local board shall request approval by the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the exceptions by August 1 preceding the school year for which they are applicable. The affected programs must be in compliance with such other regulations as may apply to them.

The length of the work day for employees shall be determined by the local school board. It shall be of sufficient length to allow for the daily program for students and additional time as may be necessary for such activities as planning, preparation, meetings, workshops, conferences, meal intermissions, or other contractual obligations.

School officers and teachers shall require all children who apply for admission into the public free schools to be provided with such books as have been duly approved under the regulations of the Board of Education. In the case of children whose parents or guardians are financially unable to furnish them, school boards shall provide, free of charge, such textbooks and workbooks required for courses of instruction.

There shall be kept in every school a copy of the list of textbooks prescribed for use in that division.

Each local school board shall maintain an up-to-date policy manual which shall include:

1. The grievance procedure prescribed by the Board of Education;

2. A system of communication between the local school board and its employees in order that views of all school employees may be received in an orderly and constructive manner in matters of concern to them; and

3. A cooperatively developed procedure for personnel evaluation.

An up-to-date copy of the local school board policy manual shall be kept in the library of each school in that division, and shall be available to employees and to the public.

With the assistance of the division superintendent, each school board shall make a report on or before the first day of August of each year, covering the work of the schools for the year ending the 30th day of the preceding June. The report shall be made to the Board of Education on forms supplied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may grant, for good cause, an extension of time not to exceed 15 days for making such report.

The time for opening and closing schools shall be prescribed by the local school board upon recommendation of the division superintendent, provided that the daily program for students in grades kindergarten through 12 shall average at least 5-1/2 hours, not including meal intermissions. If the required program length is maintained, the local school board may approve occasional shortened days for staff development, conferences, planning, and other activities designed to improve the instructional program, provided that no more than one day in each five-day week may be shortened to no less than four hours. The student day described in this section shall be considered a minimum day rather than an optimum day; a longer student day is encouraged to accommodate the instructional program and student needs.

When exceptions in the length of the daily program are necessary for special education, alternative education, double shifts, and scheduling or other unusual situations, the local board shall request approval of the exception by the Superintendent of Public Instruction by August 1 preceding the school year for which the exception is applicable. The affected programs must be in compliance with any other regulations that apply to the programs.

The length of the workday for employees shall be determined by the local school board, but it shall be of sufficient length to allow for the daily program for students and additional time as may be necessary for activities such as planning, preparation, meetings, workshops, conferences, meal intermissions, or other contractual obligations.

A. Textbook approval.

1. The State Board of Education shall have the authority to approve textbooks for use in the public schools of Virginia.

2. In approving basal textbooks for reading in kindergarten and first grade, the State Board of Education shall report to local school boards those textbooks with a minimum decodability standard based on words that students can correctly read by properly attaching speech sounds to each letter to formulate the word at 70% or above for such textbooks in accordance with § 22.1-239 of the Code of Virginia.

3. Any local school board may use textbooks not approved by the State Board of Education, provided the local school board selects such books in accordance with this chapter.

4. Contracts and purchase orders with publishers of textbooks approved by the State Board of Education for use in grades 6-12 six through 12 shall allow for the purchase of printed textbooks, printed textbooks with electronic files, or electronic textbooks separate and apart from printed versions of the same textbook. Each local school board shall have the authority to purchase an assortment of textbooks in any of the three forms listed in this subdivision.

B. Procedures for selection of textbooks by local school boards. Local school boards shall adopt procedures for the selection of textbooks. These procedures shall include, at a minimum, the following:

1. Appointment of evaluation committees by the local school board to review and evaluate textbooks in each of the subject areas.

2. Notice to parents that textbooks under consideration for approval will be listed on the school division's website and made available at designated locations for review by any interested citizens.

3. Opportunities for those reviewing such textbooks to present their comments and observations, if any, to the local school board through locally approved procedures.

4. Procedures to ensure appropriate consideration of citizen comments and observations.

5. Selection criteria.

C. Local school board selection of textbooks other than those approved by the State Board of Education.

1. The selection process for non-Board non-State Board of Education approved textbooks is subject to the procedures outlined in subsection B of this section.

2. The selection process for such textbooks pertaining to Virginia Standards of Learning subjects shall include at the local level a correlation of the content to the Virginia Standards of Learning in the content area and an analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the textbook in terms of instructional planning and support.

3. The publisher of such textbooks shall:

a. Provide to the local school board a certification that the content of the textbook is accurate; and

b. Sign an agreement with the local school board to correct all factual and editing errors found in a textbook at its own expense.

D. Purchasing State Board of Education approved textbooks.

1. Local school divisions shall purchase textbooks approved by the State Board of Education directly from the publishers of the textbooks by either entering into written term contracts or issuing purchase orders on an as-needed basis in accordance with § 22.1-241 of the Code of Virginia.

2. Such written contracts or purchase orders shall be exempt from the Virginia Public Procurement Act (§ 2.2-4300 et seq. of the Code of Virginia).

E. Purchasing non-Board non-State Board of Education approved textbooks. The purchase of textbooks other than those approved by the State Board of Education is not exempt from the Virginia Public Procurement Act.

F. Distribution of textbooks. Each local school board shall provide, free of charge, such textbooks required for courses of instruction for each child attending public schools. In the case of children whose parents or guardians are financially unable to furnish workbooks, local school boards shall provide, free of charge, any workbooks required for courses of instruction.

G. Certifications.

1. The division superintendent and chairperson of the local school board shall annually certify to the Virginia Department of Education that:

a. All textbooks were selected and purchased in accordance with this chapter; and

b. The price paid for each textbook in accordance with § 22.1-241 of the Code of Virginia.

2. The certification shall include a list of all textbooks adopted by the local school board.