Bill > HB2686

This bill aims to make college textbooks and other course materials more affordable by establishing and expanding the use of "open educational resources," which are freely accessible, openly licensed educational materials like digital textbooks and readings that can be used and adapted for teaching. The bill mandates that by fall 2017, community and technical colleges must identify and designate courses that use these open educational resources, meaning the majority of required materials' costs are eliminated. It also creates grant programs administered by the college board for community and technical colleges to fund coordinators who will promote and expand the "open course library" – a collection of shareable course materials for high-enrollment courses that cost less than thirty dollars – and to support colleges developing entire degree or certificate programs composed of courses using open educational resources. A similar grant program is established for four-year institutions, administered by the student achievement council, to promote access to open educational resources. Both grant programs will prioritize institutions that project the lowest textbook costs for students and demonstrate the largest cost reductions, and will be eligible to receive private funding. Finally, the college board and the student achievement council are required to report on the impact of these grant programs and provide recommendations for further cost reductions by December 1, 2018.