Bill > HR4455

This bill, the Learning Opportunities With Creation of Open Source Textbooks (LOW COST) Act of 2014, aims to address the high cost of college textbooks by requiring federal agencies to collaborate on developing free, "open source" educational materials for college-level physics, chemistry, and math. Open source materials are defined as content that can be freely downloaded, shared, and modified by anyone, ensuring they are free of copyright issues and meet high quality standards, including editorial peer review and tested student engagement. The bill mandates the creation of a Federal Open Source Material Website to host these materials, with a deadline for posting freshman-level content within four years of enactment. Federal agencies spending over $10 million annually on scientific education or outreach must allocate at least 2% of those funds to this collaborative effort, overseen by the Director of the National Science Foundation. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the adoption and savings generated by these open source materials by July 1, 2018.