(a) The State Board of Education shall annually determine the cost of public school educational television programming, including the state-wide cost of production and purchase of videotapes and other materials. Such costs shall be paid entirely from state funds, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly.

(b) The state board shall develop a comprehensive plan for carrying out the public school educational purposes of this Code section. Such plan shall include, but not be limited to, reviewing the utilization of educational television for instructional purposes, the purchase and construction of facilities or equipment, and improvements in the effectiveness of instruction through telecommunications.

(c) Notwithstanding any other Code section to the contrary, the State Board of Education may delegate the authority and duties found in subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section and any other authority and duties concerning educational television to the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission, and the commission may contract for the purposes of subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section with public telecommunications facilities owned by an independent school system prior to 1960.