INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY ALLOTMENT PURCHASES

(a) The commissioner shall, as early as practicable during each biennium, notify each school district and open-enrollment charter school of the estimated amount to which the district or charter school will be entitled under Section 31.0211 during the next fiscal biennium. (b) The commissioner shall allow a school district or open-enrollment charter school to place an order for instructional materials before the beginning of a fiscal biennium and to receive instructional materials before payment. The commissioner shall limit the cost of an order placed under this section to 80 percent of the estimated amount to which a school district or open-enrollment charter school is estimated to be entitled as provided by Subsection (a) and shall first credit any balance in a district or charter school instructional materials and technology account to pay for an order placed under this section. (c) The commissioner shall make payments for orders placed under this section as funds become available to the instructional materials and technology fund and shall prioritize payment of orders placed under this section over reimbursement of purchases made directly by a school district or open-enrollment charter school. (d) The commissioner shall ensure that publishers of instructional materials are informed of any potential delay in payment and that payment is subject to the availability of appropriated funds. A publisher may decline to accept an order placed under this section. (e) Chapter 2251, Government Code, does not apply to purchases of instructional materials under this section.