Instructional Materials Allotment for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019 (School years 2017-18 and 2018-19)
July 24, 2017
TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:
SUBJECT: Instructional Materials Allotment for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019 (School years 2017‒18 and 2018‒19)
The 2018‒2019 instructional materials allotment (IMA) allocations for each district and open-enrollment charter school are now available at http://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/2018-2019%20IMA%20Totals%208-28-2017.pdf
The district IMA allocations are expected to be populated in EMAT, the state’s online ordering system, by July 25, 2017.
House Bill 1474 (84th Texas Legislature, 2015) changed the IMA from an annual allocation to a biennial allocation and required the Texas Education Agency to make the full amount available to districts at the beginning of each biennium. The amounts in EMAT must serve districts for two full school years. District personnel responsible for making instructional materials and educational technology purchasing decisions will want to carefully plan the two years’ spending to ensure that funds are available when they are needed.
Although the amounts will soon be available in EMAT, the actual funds will not be available until after September 1, 2017. Until that time, districts and open enrollment charter schools may use unexpended funds (carry-over funds) for IMA expenditures including newly adopted instructional materials, continuing contracts, technological equipment, and/or technology services.
If carry-over funds are not available, districts may order materials through requisitions for up to 80% of their 2018‒2019 IMA funds through the delayed-payment option. The delayed-payment option, authorized under the Texas Education Code, §31.0215, enables districts to requisition and receive state-adopted instructional materials before actual IMA funds are available. Please share this information with all those responsible for fiscal accountability in your district.
Publishers that have agreed to receive delayed payments are identified in EMAT. Payments for delayed-payment orders will be made to publishers after September 1 when the new IMA funds become available and will take priority over districts’ disbursement requests.
Adopted instructional materials for the visually impaired (braille, large-print, and audio) are the property of the state and are not paid for out of a district's IMA. They can be requested through EMAT and must be returned to the redistribution center when they are no longer in use. Districts that choose to purchase non-adopted instructional materials should remember that, should braille, large-print, or audio versions be required by a student’s individualized education plan or 504 plan, the district is required to provide those using IMA or local funds.
If you have any questions about the allocations or the reimbursement process, please contact the Instructional Materials Division at instructional.materials@tea.texas.gov or (512) 463-9601.
Sincerely,
Monica Martinez
Associate Commissioner
Standards and Support Services