Bill > S978

This bill, the Affordable College Textbook Act, aims to expand the use of open textbooks in order to achieve savings for students and improve textbook price information. The key provisions include: 1. Establishing an open textbook grant program that provides competitive grants to institutions of higher education, consortia of institutions, or consortia of states to support projects that expand the use of open textbooks. The grants can be used for professional development, creation/adaptation of open textbooks, development of supplemental materials, and research on the efficacy and impact of open textbooks. 2. Amending the Higher Education Act to require institutions of higher education to disclose more information about college textbooks and supplemental materials, including whether they are open educational resources and, for digital materials, a summary of data collection and opt-out terms. 3. Expressing the sense of Congress that institutions should encourage the consideration of open textbooks by faculty within the principles of academic freedom. 4. Requiring the Government Accountability Office to prepare a report on the implementation of the textbook price information requirements, the change in textbook costs, the factors contributing to cost changes, the extent of open textbook use, and how institutions are tracking the impact on instruction and student learning. The overall aim of the bill is to leverage open educational resources to reduce the financial burden of college textbooks on students while maintaining instructional quality.