ANSWER:

Attached is a chart that provides the five-year trend of budget and actual expenditures for textbooks, media, instructional supplies, and other materials by school level. 

Currently, digital resources are purchased through K-12 textbook funds and funds budgeted in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer.  There has not been a decrease in textbook funds in favor of digital resources, as the cost for these resources is the same and perhaps more than print materials. These digital resources also are not updated for free as is often assumed, and there is a cost for each new version. With the introduction of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), MCPS is in a transition period where the digital content materials are not yet aligned to the state and national level curricular changes. There is not yet a set timeline for the complete transition to digital textbooks at the exclusion of printed texts.  There are a number of challenges that must be addressed to facilitate this transition over the next two years.  These include ensuring that digital textbooks and resources are usable and address the needs of students with vision and hearing impairments and for whom English is a second language.

MCPS makes every effort to purchase textbooks that have online versions and digital resources that can be used at home and in the classroom. The MCPS goal related to textbooks is to find resources that are aligned with the curriculum and CCSS; engage students in thinking about substantive, relevant content; are current; are developmentally appropriate; and are cost effective.