(a) Resident pupils, except those enrolled in residential schools located outside the State of New York, in grades kindergarten through 12, may borrow textbooks, including courseware or other content-based instructional materials in electronic format, that are designated for use in any public elementary or secondary school in the State or approved by any school board, provided that for the purposes of this section and section 701 of the Education Law, courseware or other content-based instructional materials in electronic format shall mean any instructional medium that provides specific nonsectarian educational content to students via a computer or other electronic system, and provided further that such textbooks, courseware, or other content-based instructional materials in electronic format must be required in a particular class or program as a primary source of study material intended to implement a major part of a State curriculum or State-approved local curriculum. The following materials shall not be considered to constitute textbooks for the purposes of this section:

1. (1) encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, and general and special purpose dictionaries, except that dictionaries individually assigned to all students in a particular class or program as a textbook substitute shall be considered to constitute textbooks;
2. (2) supplementary textbooks, novels and other fiction, magazines, newspapers and audio- visual materials normally housed in the school library or instructional materials center for short-term use by students, except that a newspaper or news magazine shall be considered to constitute a textbook for the purposes of this section where the newspaper or news magazine is a paper or magazine of general circulation which is printed and distributed ordinarily not less frequently than biweekly, and has been so for at least one year, and which contains news, articles of opinion, features and other matter regarded as of current interest, has a paid circulation within the school district which proposes to purchase copies pursuant to this section, has been entered with the United States Postal Service as second-class matter, is made available to schools on the date of publication of each edition at a discount of not less than 33⅓ percent from the regular price, and whose publisher regularly supplies study guides without charge to assist teachers in developing lessons based upon the newspaper;
3. (3) tests and testing materials, teacher's editions of textbooks, review books, and materials in kit form;
4. (4) sectarian publications and denominational editions which contain the approval of a religious authority;
5. (5) computer software that is generic in function, including, but not limited to, word- processing software, database software, and internet and network access software; and
6. (6) computer hardware including, but not limited to, mini-computers; microcomputers; peripheral devices, such as printers, video display plotters and desk storage units; telecommunications hardware; modems; special hardware boards; cables; and audio, video, touch-sensitive and other electronic to human machine interface hardware.