II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 978 

To expand the use of open textbooks in order to achieve savings for students 

and improve textbook price information. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 27, 2023 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. KING, Ms. SMITH, and Ms. SINEMA) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To expand the use of open textbooks in order to achieve 

savings for students and improve textbook price information. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Affordable College 

5 Textbook Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The high cost of college textbooks continues 

9 to be a barrier for many students in achieving high10 er education. 


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1 (2) According to the College Board, during the 

2 2022–2023 academic year, the average student 

3 budget for college books and supplies at 4-year pub4 lic institutions of higher education was $1,240. 

5 (3) The Government Accountability Office 

6 found that new textbook prices increased 82 percent 

7 between 2002 and 2012 and that although Federal 

8 efforts to increase price transparency have provided 

9 students and families with more and better informa10 tion, more must be done to address rising costs. 

11 (4) The growth of the internet has enabled the 

12 creation and sharing of digital content, including 

13 open educational resources that can be freely used 

14 by students, teachers, and members of the public. 

15 (5) According to the Student PIRGs, expanded 

16 use of open educational resources has the potential 

17 to save students more than a billion dollars annually. 

18 (6) Federal investment in expanding the use of 

19 open educational resources has lowered college text20 book costs and reduced financial barriers to higher 

21 education, while making efficient use of taxpayer 

22 funds. 

23 (7) Educational materials, including open edu24 cational resources, must be accessible to the widest 


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1 possible range of individuals, including those with 

2 disabilities. 

3 SEC. 3. OPEN TEXTBOOK GRANT PROGRAM. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

6 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

7 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

9 (2) OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE.—The term 

10 ‘‘open educational resource’’ has the meaning given 

11 the term in section 133 of the Higher Education Act 

12 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015b). 

13 (3) OPEN TEXTBOOK.—The term ‘‘open text14 book’’ means an open educational resource or set of 

15 open educational resources that either is a textbook 

16 or can be used in place of a textbook for a postsec17 ondary course at an institution of higher education. 

18 (4) RELEVANT FACULTY.—The term ‘‘relevant 

19 faculty’’ means both tenure track and contingent 

20 faculty members who may be involved in the creation 

21 or use of open textbooks created as part of an appli22 cation under subsection (d). 

23 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Education. 


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1 (6) SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL.—The term 

2 ‘‘supplemental material’’ has the meaning given the 

3 term in section 133 of the Higher Education Act of 

4 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015b). 

5 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap6 propriated under subsection (k), the Secretary shall make 

7 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to sup8 port projects that expand the use of open textbooks in 

9 order to achieve savings for students while maintaining or 

10 improving instruction and student learning outcomes. 

11 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the term ‘‘el12 igible entity’’ means an institution of higher education, a 

13 consortium of institutions of higher education, or a consor14 tium of States on behalf of institutions of higher edu15 cation. 

16 (d) APPLICATIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desiring 

18 a grant under this section, after consultation with 

19 relevant faculty, shall submit an application to the 

20 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom21 panied by such information as the Secretary may 

22 reasonably require. 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

24 under paragraph (1) shall include a description of 

25 the project to be completed with grant funds and— 


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1 (A) a plan for promoting and tracking the 

2 use of open textbooks in postsecondary courses 

3 offered by the eligible entity and across partici4 pating members of the consortium, where appli5 cable, including an estimate of the projected 

6 savings that will be achieved for students; 

7 (B) a plan for identifying gaps in the open 

8 textbook marketplace in courses that are part 

9 of degree-granting programs, which may include 

10 a plan for evaluating, before creating new open 

11 textbooks, whether existing open textbooks 

12 could be used or adapted for the same purpose, 

13 and in the case that a gap exists, creating new 

14 open textbooks; 

15 (C) a plan for quality review and review of 

16 accuracy of any open textbooks to be created or 

17 adapted through the grant; 

18 (D) a plan for assessing the impact of 

19 open textbooks on instruction, student learning 

20 outcomes, course outcomes, and educational 

21 costs at the eligible entity and across partici22 pating members of the consortium, where appli23 cable; 

24 (E) a plan for disseminating information 

25 about the results of the project to institutions 


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1 of higher education outside of the eligible enti2 ty, including promoting the adoption of any 

3 open textbooks created or adapted through the 

4 grant; 

5 (F) a statement on consultation with rel6 evant faculty, including those engaged in the 

7 creation of open textbooks, in the development 

8 of the application; 

9 (G) a plan for professional development to 

10 build the capacity of faculty, instructors, and 

11 other staff to adapt and use open textbooks; 

12 and 

13 (H) a plan for updating the open textbooks 

14 beyond the funded period. 

15 (e) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—In awarding grants 

16 under this section, the Secretary shall give special consid17 eration to applications that demonstrate the greatest po18 tential to— 

19 (1) achieve the highest level of savings for stu20 dents through sustainable expanded use of open 

21 textbooks in postsecondary courses offered by the el22 igible entity; 

23 (2) expand the use of open textbooks at institu24 tions of higher education outside of the eligible enti25 ty; and 


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1 (3) produce— 

2 (A) the highest quality open textbooks; 

3 (B) open textbooks that can be most easily 

4 utilized and adapted by faculty members at in5 stitutions of higher education; 

6 (C) open textbooks that correspond to the 

7 highest enrollment courses at institutions of 

8 higher education; 

9 (D) open textbooks created or adapted in 

10 partnership with entities within institutions of 

11 higher education, including campus bookstores, 

12 that will assist in marketing and distribution of 

13 the open textbook; and 

14 (E) open textbooks that are accessible to 

15 students with disabilities. 

16 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

17 a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 

18 carry out any of the following activities to expand the use 

19 of open textbooks: 

20 (1) Professional development for any faculty 

21 and staff members at institutions of higher edu22 cation, including the search for and review of open 

23 textbooks. 

24 (2) Creation or adaptation of open textbooks. 


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1 (3) Development or improvement of supple2 mental materials and informational resources that 

3 are necessary to support the use of open textbooks, 

4 including accessible instructional materials for stu5 dents with disabilities. 

6 (4) Research evaluating the efficacy of the use 

7 of open textbooks for achieving savings for students 

8 and the impact on instruction and student learning 

9 outcomes. 

10 (g) LICENSE.—For each open textbook, supplemental 

11 material, or informational resource created or adapted 

12 wholly or in part under this section that constitutes a new 

13 copyrightable work, the eligible entity receiving the grant 

14 shall release such textbook, material, or resource to the 

15 public under a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and 

16 irrevocable license to exercise any of the rights under copy17 right conditioned only on the requirement that attribution 

18 be given as directed by the copyright owner. 

19 (h) ACCESS AND DISTRIBUTION.—The full and com20 plete digital content of each open textbook, supplemental 

21 material, or informational resource created or adapted 

22 wholly or in part under this section shall be made available 

23 free of charge to the public— 


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1 (1) on an easily accessible and interoperable 

2 website, which shall be identified to the Secretary by 

3 the eligible entity; 

4 (2) in a machine readable, digital format that 

5 anyone can directly download, edit with attribution, 

6 and redistribute; 

7 (3) in a format that conforms to accessibility 

8 standards under section 508 of the Rehabilitation 

9 Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), where feasible; and 

10 (4) with identifying information, including the 

11 title, edition, author, publisher, copyright date, and 

12 International Standard Book Number, if available. 

13 (i) REPORT.—Upon an eligible entity’s completion of 

14 a project supported under this section, the eligible entity 

15 shall prepare and submit a report to the Secretary regard16 ing— 

17 (1) the effectiveness of the project in expanding 

18 the use of open textbooks and in achieving savings 

19 for students; 

20 (2) the impact of the project on expanding the 

21 use of open textbooks at institutions of higher edu22 cation outside of the eligible entity; 

23 (3) open textbooks, supplemental materials, and 

24 informational resources created or adapted wholly or 

25 in part under the grant, including instructions on 


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1 where the public can access each educational re2 source under the terms of subsection (h); 

3 (4) the impact of the project on instruction and 

4 student learning outcomes; and 

5 (5) all project costs, including the value of any 

6 volunteer labor and institutional capital used for the 

7 project. 

8 (j) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

9 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and annu10 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit a 

11 report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

12 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education 

13 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives detail14 ing— 

15 (1) the open textbooks, supplemental materials, 

16 and informational resources created or adapted 

17 wholly or in part under this section; 

18 (2) the adoption of such open textbooks, includ19 ing outside of the eligible entity; 

20 (3) the savings generated for students, States, 

21 and the Federal Government through projects sup22 ported under this section; and 

23 (4) the impact of projects supported under this 

24 section on instruction and student learning out25 comes. 


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1 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 such sums as are necessary. 

4 SEC. 4. TEXTBOOK PRICE INFORMATION. 

5 Section 133 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 1015b) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (b)— 

8 (A) by striking paragraph (6) and insert9 ing the following: 

10 ‘‘(6) OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE.—The 

11 term ‘open educational resource’ means a teaching, 

12 learning, or research resource that is offered freely 

13 to users in at least one form and that resides in the 

14 public domain or has been released under an open 

15 copyright license that allows for its free use, reuse, 

16 modification, and sharing with attribution.’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘text18 book that’’ and all that follows through the pe19 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘textbook that 

20 may include printed materials, website access, 

21 and electronically distributed materials.’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (c)(1)— 

23 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

24 (A), by striking ‘‘or other person or adopting 

25 entity in charge of selecting course materials’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘or other person or entity in 

2 charge of selecting or aiding in the discovery 

3 and procurement of course materials’’; 

4 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

5 ‘‘such institution of higher education or to’’ 

6 after ‘‘would make the college textbook or sup7 plemental material available to’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(E) Whether the college textbook or sup10 plemental material is an open educational re11 source. 

12 ‘‘(F) For a college textbook or supple13 mental material delivered primarily in a digital 

14 format, a summary of terms and conditions 

15 under which a publisher collects and uses stu16 dent data through the student’s use of such col17 lege textbook or supplemental material, includ18 ing whether a student can opt out of such 

19 terms and conditions.’’; 

20 (3) in subsection (d)— 

21 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

22 ‘‘ISBN’’; and 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert24 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) verify and disclose, on (or linked from) the 

2 institution’s Internet course schedule, for each 

3 course listed in such course schedule, and in a man4 ner of the institution’s choosing (except that if the 

5 institution determines that the disclosure of the in6 formation described in this subsection is not prac7 ticable or available for a college textbook or supple8 mental material, then the institution shall indicate 

9 the status of such information in lieu of the informa10 tion required under this subsection)— 

11 ‘‘(A) the International Standard Book 

12 Number of required and recommended college 

13 textbooks and supplemental materials, except 

14 that if the International Standard Book Num15 ber is not available for such college textbook or 

16 supplemental material, then the institution shall 

17 include in the Internet course schedule the au18 thor, title, publisher, and copyright date for 

19 such college textbook or supplemental material; 

20 ‘‘(B) the retail price of required and rec21 ommended college textbooks and supplemental 

22 materials; 

23 ‘‘(C) any applicable fee information of re24 quired and recommended college textbooks and 

25 supplemental materials; 


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1 ‘‘(D) whether each required and rec2 ommended college textbook and supplemental 

3 material is an open educational resource; and 

4 ‘‘(E) for a college textbook or supplemental 

5 material delivered primarily in a digital format, 

6 a link to the summary required to be provided 

7 by the publisher under subsection (c)(1)(F); 

8 and’’; 

9 (4) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(e) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION FOR COLLEGE

12 BOOKSTORES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher 

14 education receiving Federal financial assistance shall 

15 assist a college bookstore that is operated by, or in 

16 a contractual relationship or otherwise affiliated 

17 with, the institution, in obtaining required and rec18 ommended course materials information and such 

19 course schedule and enrollment information as is 

20 reasonably required to implement this section so 

21 that such bookstore may— 

22 ‘‘(A) verify availability of such materials; 

23 ‘‘(B) source lower cost options, including 

24 presenting lower cost alternatives to faculty for 

25 faculty to consider, when practicable; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) maximize the availability of format 

2 options for students. 

3 ‘‘(2) DUE DATES.—In carrying out paragraph 

4 (1), an institution of higher education may establish 

5 due dates for faculty or departments to notify the 

6 campus bookstore of required and recommended 

7 course materials.’’; and 

8 (5) in subsection (f)— 

9 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

10 (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5); and 

11 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(3) available open educational resources;’’. 

14 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that institutions of higher 

16 education should encourage the consideration of open text17 books by faculty within the generally accepted principles 

18 of academic freedom that establishes the right and respon19 sibility of faculty members, individually and collectively, 

20 to select course materials that are pedagogically most ap21 propriate for their classes. 

22 SEC. 6. GAO REPORT. 

23 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

25 shall prepare and submit a report to the Committee on 


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1 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 

2 the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

3 House of Representatives on the cost of textbooks to stu4 dents at institutions of higher education. The report shall 

5 particularly examine— 

6 (1) the implementation of section 133 of the 

7 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015b), 

8 as amended by section 4, including— 

9 (A) the availability of college textbook and 

10 open educational resource information on 

11 course schedules; 

12 (B) the compliance of publishers with ap13 plicable requirements under such section; and 

14 (C) the costs and benefits to institutions of 

15 higher education and to students; 

16 (2) the change in the cost of textbooks; 

17 (3) the factors, including open textbooks, that 

18 have contributed to the change of the cost of text19 books; 

20 (4) the extent to which open textbooks are used 

21 at institutions of higher education; and 

22 (5) how institutions are tracking the impact of 

23 open textbooks on instruction and student learning 

24 outcomes. 

Æ 


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