Bill > HF789

This bill establishes the Open Educational Resource Council to promote the use of "digital open source resources," which are defined as digital, modular educational materials in a format like XML that can work on various devices and are licensed to allow free use and modification with attribution. These resources must also meet accessibility standards for individuals with disabilities, similar to federal requirements. The council will be composed of 11 faculty members from different types of Minnesota higher education institutions, with administrative support from the Office of Higher Education. The council's duties include developing strategies to increase the use of these resources, training faculty, partnering with existing textbook catalogs, creating a review process for these materials to ensure accessibility, and developing a website to access them, while also seeking input from student associations. The bill also mandates that the council report on its progress to the legislature and appropriates $500,000 for its work.