II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3818 

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 10 (legislative day, MARCH 7), 2022 

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 2021–2022 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 could significantly lower 

20 college textbook costs and reduce financial barriers 

21 to higher education, while making efficient use of 

22 taxpayer 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 group of institutions of higher education, or States on be14 half of institutions of higher education. 

15 (d) APPLICATIONS.— 

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

17 a grant under this section, after consultation with 

18 relevant faculty, shall submit an application to the 

19 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom20 panied by such information as the Secretary may 

21 reasonably require. 

22 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

23 under paragraph (1) shall include a description of 

24 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, including an esti4 mate of the projected savings that will be 

5 achieved for students; 

6 (B) a plan for evaluating, before creating 

7 new open textbooks, whether existing open text8 books could be used or adapted for the same 

9 purpose; 

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

11 accuracy of any open textbooks to be created or 

12 adapted through the grant; 

13 (D) a plan for assessing the impact of 

14 open textbooks on instruction and student 

15 learning outcomes at the eligible entity; 

16 (E) a plan for disseminating information 

17 about the results of the project to institutions 

18 of higher education outside of the eligible enti19 ty, including promoting the adoption of any 

20 open textbooks created or adapted through the 

21 grant; and 

22 (F) a statement on consultation with rel23 evant faculty, including those engaged in the 

24 creation of open textbooks, in the development 

25 of the application. 


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1 (e) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—In awarding grants 

2 under this section, the Secretary shall give special consid3 eration to applications that demonstrate the greatest po4 tential to— 

5 (1) achieve the highest level of savings for stu6 dents through sustainable expanded use of open 

7 textbooks in postsecondary courses offered by the el8 igible entity; 

9 (2) expand the use of open textbooks at institu10 tions of higher education outside of the eligible enti11 ty; and 

12 (3) produce— 

13 (A) the highest quality open textbooks; 

14 (B) open textbooks that can be most easily 

15 utilized and adapted by faculty members at in16 stitutions of higher education; 

17 (C) open textbooks that correspond to the 

18 highest enrollment courses at institutions of 

19 higher education; 

20 (D) open textbooks created or adapted in 

21 partnership with entities within institutions of 

22 higher education, including campus bookstores, 

23 that will assist in marketing and distribution of 

24 the open textbook; and 


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1 (E) open textbooks that are accessible to 

2 students with disabilities. 

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

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

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

6 of open textbooks: 

7 (1) Professional development for any faculty 

8 and staff members at institutions of higher edu9 cation, including the search for and review of open 

10 textbooks. 

11 (2) Creation or adaptation of open textbooks. 

12 (3) Development or improvement of supple13 mental materials and informational resources that 

14 are necessary to support the use of open textbooks, 

15 including accessible instructional materials for stu16 dents with disabilities. 

17 (4) Research evaluating the efficacy of the use 

18 of open textbooks for achieving savings for students 

19 and the impact on instruction and student learning 

20 outcomes. 

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

22 material, or informational resource created or adapted 

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

24 copyrightable work, the eligible entity receiving the grant 

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


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

2 irrevocable license to exercise any of the rights under copy3 right conditioned only on the requirement that attribution 

4 be given as directed by the copyright owner. 

5 (h) ACCESS AND DISTRIBUTION.—The full and com6 plete digital content of each open textbook, supplemental 

7 material, or informational resource created or adapted 

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

9 free of charge to the public— 

10 (1) on an easily accessible and interoperable 

11 website, which shall be identified to the Secretary by 

12 the eligible entity; 

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

14 anyone can directly download, edit with attribution, 

15 and redistribute; 

16 (3) in a format that conforms to accessibility 

17 standards under section 508 of the Rehabilitation 

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

19 (4) with identifying information, including the 

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

21 International Standard Book Number, if available. 

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

23 a project supported under this section, the eligible entity 

24 shall prepare and submit a report to the Secretary regard25 ing— 


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1 (1) the effectiveness of the project in expanding 

2 the use of open textbooks and in achieving savings 

3 for students; 

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

5 use of open textbooks at institutions of higher edu6 cation outside of the eligible entity; 

7 (3) open textbooks, supplemental materials, and 

8 informational resources created or adapted wholly or 

9 in part under the grant, including instructions on 

10 where the public can access each educational re11 source under the terms of subsection (h); 

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

13 student learning outcomes; and 

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

15 volunteer labor and institutional capital used for the 

16 project. 

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

18 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and annu19 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit a 

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

21 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education 

22 and Labor of the House of Representatives detailing— 

23 (1) the open textbooks, supplemental materials, 

24 and informational resources created or adapted 

25 wholly or in part under this section; 


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1 (2) the adoption of such open textbooks, includ2 ing outside of the eligible entity; 

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

4 and the Federal Government through projects sup5 ported under this section; and 

6 (4) the impact of projects supported under this 

7 section on instruction and student learning out8 comes. 

9 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

11 such sums as are necessary. 

12 SEC. 4. TEXTBOOK PRICE INFORMATION. 

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

14 U.S.C. 1015b) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) by striking paragraph (6) and insert17 ing the following: 

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

19 term ‘open educational resource’ means a teaching, 

20 learning, or research resource that is offered freely 

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

22 public domain or has been released under an open 

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

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


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1 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘text2 book that’’ and all that follows through the pe3 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘textbook that 

4 may include printed materials, computer disks, 

5 website access, and electronically distributed 

6 materials.’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (c)(1)— 

8 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

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

10 entity in charge of selecting course materials’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘or other person or entity in 

12 charge of selecting or aiding in the discovery 

13 and procurement of course materials’’; 

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

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

16 after ‘‘would make the college textbook or sup17 plemental material available to’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(E) Whether the college textbook or sup20 plemental material is an open educational re21 source. 

22 ‘‘(F) For a college textbook or supple23 mental material delivered primarily in a digital 

24 format, a summary of terms and conditions 

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1 dent data through the student’s use of such col2 lege textbook or supplemental material, includ3 ing whether a student can opt out of such 

4 terms and conditions.’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (d)— 

6 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

7 ‘‘ISBN’’; and 

8 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert9 ing the following: 

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

11 institution’s Internet course schedule, for each 

12 course listed in such course schedule, and in a man13 ner of the institution’s choosing (except that if the 

14 institution determines that the disclosure of the in15 formation described in this subsection is not prac16 ticable or available for a college textbook or supple17 mental material, then the institution shall indicate 

18 the status of such information in lieu of the informa19 tion required under this subsection)— 

20 ‘‘(A) the International Standard Book 

21 Number of required and recommended college 

22 textbooks and supplemental materials, except 

23 that if the International Standard Book Num24 ber is not available for such college textbook or 

25 supplemental material, then the institution shall 


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1 include in the Internet course schedule the au2 thor, title, publisher, and copyright date for 

3 such college textbook or supplemental material; 

4 ‘‘(B) the retail price of required and rec5 ommended college textbooks and supplemental 

6 materials; 

7 ‘‘(C) any applicable fee information of re8 quired and recommended college textbooks and 

9 supplemental materials; 

10 ‘‘(D) whether each required and rec11 ommended college textbook and supplemental 

12 material is an open educational resource; and 

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

14 material delivered primarily in a digital format, 

15 a link to the summary required to be provided 

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

17 and’’; 

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

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(e) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION FOR COLLEGE

21 BOOKSTORES.— 

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

23 education receiving Federal financial assistance shall 

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

25 a contractual relationship or otherwise affiliated 


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1 with, the institution, in obtaining required and rec2 ommended course materials information and such 

3 course schedule and enrollment information as is 

4 reasonably required to implement this section so 

5 that such bookstore may— 

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

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

8 presenting lower cost alternatives to faculty for 

9 faculty to consider, when practicable; and 

10 ‘‘(C) maximize the availability of format 

11 options for students. 

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

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

14 due dates for faculty or departments to notify the 

15 campus bookstore of required and recommended 

16 course materials.’’; and 

17 (5) in subsection (f)— 

18 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

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

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

21 following: 

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

23 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that institutions of higher 

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1 books by faculty within the generally accepted principles 

2 of academic freedom that establishes the right and respon3 sibility of faculty members, individually and collectively, 

4 to select course materials that are pedagogically most ap5 propriate for their classes. 

6 SEC. 6. GAO REPORT. 

7 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

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

9 shall prepare and submit a report to the Committee on 

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

11 the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 

12 Representatives on the cost of textbooks to students at 

13 institutions of higher education. The report shall particu14 larly examine— 

15 (1) the implementation of section 133 of the 

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

17 as amended by section 4, including— 

18 (A) the availability of college textbook and 

19 open educational resource information on 

20 course schedules; 

21 (B) the compliance of publishers with ap22 plicable requirements under such section; and 

23 (C) the costs and benefits to institutions of 

24 higher education and to students; 

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


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

2 have contributed to the change of the cost of text3 books; 

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

5 at institutions of higher education; and 

6 (5) how institutions are tracking the impact of 

7 open textbooks on instruction and student learning 

8 outcomes. 

Æ 


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