| AI Summary |
This bill establishes contracting requirements for public schools when purchasing curated digital research collections from vendors.
Key Provisions:
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Advertising Ban in Digital Collections
- Contracts with vendors (starting July 1, 2026) must include a termination clause if:
- The collection contains advertisements, promotions, or embedded links/URLs
- The vendor fails to remove them within 3 business days after notification.
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Vendor Certification Requirement
- Vendors must certify that their digital collections are free of ads, promotions, or embedded links/URLs.
- Violations allow the school entity to seek reimbursement and pursue legal remedies.
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Reporting Process for Violations
- Public school employees, contractors, volunteers, students, parents, and community members may report violations.
- Reports must include specific details (e.g., collection name, document title, keywords).
- Schools must notify both the vendor and the Department of Education about reported incidents.
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Annual Notification Requirements
- Public schools must inform stakeholders annually about the reporting process.
- Notification must be posted on school websites.
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Public Library Agreements Transparency
- If a public school partners with a public library that promotes digital collections, the school must:
- Annually disclose contract details via email to the local school board and parents.
- Send an email update if any material changes occur in the contract.
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Annual Reporting to the General Assembly
- The Department of Education must report the total number of reported violations each year.
Potential Impacts:
- Ensures ad-free educational resources for students.
- Increases vendor accountability for maintaining educational integrity.
- Enhances transparency in digital resource agreements with public libraries.
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| Summary |
A public school contracting entity (entity) that executes a contract
on or after July 1, 2026, with a vendor or provider of a curated digital
research collection (collection) shall include in the terms of the contract
a termination clause stating that the contract is materially breached and
that grounds for termination exist if the collection contains
advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or uniform resource
locators (URLs) and when notified of the advertisement, promotion, or
URLs the vendor does not remove the items within 3 days after receiving
the notice.
All vendors must certify that collections are free of advertisements,
promotions, or embedded links or URLs. If a vendor violates the terms of
the contract, the entity is entitled to reimbursement and may pursue
remedies for breach of contract.
A public school employee, contractor, or volunteer shall report,
and students, parents, guardians, legal custodians, or community members
(interested parties) may report if a collection is found to contain
advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or URLs. The report must
include the name of the digital collection and the title of the document,
the reference number, or keywords used to access the collection. The
entity shall notify the vendor or provider and the department of education
(department) of each reported incident. The vendor or provider shall
remove the advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or URLs
within 3 business days after receiving notice.
The bill requires public schools to annually notify interested
parties of the reporting procedures. Public schools shall include the
annual notification on their websites. Public schools may include
information on their websites regarding how to make a report.
If a public school contracts or enters into an agreement with a
public library that promotes a collection, the public school shall annually
disclose the details of the contract or agreement by email to the local
school district board of education and parents, guardians, or legal
custodians of students enrolled in the public school. If any material
changes to the contract or agreement occur, the public school shall send
an email notification to the local school district board of education,
parents, guardians, or legal custodians of students enrolled in the school.
The department is required to annually report to the general
assembly on the number of reports that occur each year.
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