Nearly all states with textbook adoption policies now include software, digital content, and other technology-based media in their definitions of "instructional materials," according to a recent survey by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). But only a third have updated their submission or review processes to account for unique technology issues not otherwise faced with printed textbooks.

The survey's results come almost a year after the SIIA launched a campaign to get states to update their archaic textbook adoption policies to accommodate digital resources (See "SIIA: Revise archaic textbook adoptions.")

Mark Schneiderman, SIIA's director of education policy, said that states are working to modernize their policies for adopting electronic instructional materials. But for Schneiderman, the survey confirmed what SIIA members already knew: that a great deal of education needs to take place at the state level when it comes to the adoption of eTexts.

"There's a significant learning curve for states to even understand the issues involved in eText adoption," Schneiderman said.

According to the SIIA, which is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry, 21 states require approval for textbooks, usually on a six-year cycle: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Officials from 18 of these 21 states completed the group's survey. Of these 18 respondents, only one--Oregon--said it doesn't define "textbooks" to include electronic learning resources.

But the survey found that state contracts and budgeting often remain barriers to final approval of a subscription-based model for core curricular materials, as is typical with most online resources. It also found that only one-third of states that have a depository requirement provide exceptions for web-based materials, and at least eight states reported challenges with the distribution of electronic resources for reviewing.

Mark Tullis, vice president of business development for Learning.com and co-chair of SIIA's education and workforce development policy committee, said his company has tried to navigate an arcane state adoption system that was established to work with printed textbooks since 2001.

"We noticed right away that certain things didn't apply to us," said Tullis. "It looked like the forms had not been updated since the 1980s. It asked questions about tapes and videodisks."

Another problem with the adoption of state-approved materials is that reviewers often have limited experience in evaluating electronic learning resources and employing technology in the classroom.

The survey found that the majority of states don't have any process to ensure that reviewers are tech-savvy enough to evaluate electronic materials. Only two states--California and Tennessee--ask reviewers about their computer skills, and three others--North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas--say they provide training to reviewers as needed.