Section 60240.

(a) The State Instructional Materials Fund is hereby continued in existence in the State Treasury. The fund shall be a means of annually funding the acquisition of instructional materials as required by the Constitution of the State of California. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the State Department of Education without regard to fiscal years for carrying out the purposes of this part. It is the intent of the Legislature that the fund shall provide for flexibility of instructional materials, including classroom library materials.

(b) The State Department of Education shall administer the fund under policies established by the state board.

(c) (1) The state board shall encumber part of the fund to pay for accessible instructional materials pursuant to Sections 60312 and 60313 to accommodate pupils who are visually impaired or have other disabilities and are unable to access the general curriculum.

(2) The state board may encumber funds, in an amount not to exceed two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000), for replacement of instructional materials, obtained by a school district with its allowance that are lost or destroyed by reason of fire, theft, natural disaster, or vandalism.

(3) The state board may encumber funds for the costs of warehousing and transporting instructional materials it has acquired.

(d) The department may expend up to five million dollars ($5,000,000) from the fund to acquire instructional materials for school districts pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 1240. The fund shall be replenished by amounts repaid by school districts or deducted from apportionments to school districts by the Controller pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 1240.

(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 900, Sec. 19. Effective September 29, 2004.)