I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1464 
To require Federal agencies to collaborate in the development of freely- 
available open source educational materials in college-level physics, chem-
istry, and math, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 12, 2009 
Mr. FOSTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Science and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on 
Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require Federal agencies to collaborate in the development 
of freely-available open source educational materials in 
college-level physics, chemistry, and math, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Learning Opportuni-
ties With Creation of Open Source Textbooks (LOW 
COST) Act of 2009’’. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
22:08 Mar 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1464.IH
H1464
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The College Board reported that for the 
2007 through 2008 academic years each student 
spent an estimated $805 to $1,229 on college books 
and supplies depending on the type of institution of 
higher education a student attended. 
(2) The gross margin on new college textbooks 
is currently 22.7 percent according to the National 
Association of College Stores. 
(3) In a recent study, the Government Account-
ability Office found that college textbook prices have 
risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the 
last two decades. 
(4) An open source material project that would 
make high quality educational materials freely avail-
able to the general public would drop college text-
book costs and increase accessibility to such edu-
cation materials. 
(5) College-level open source course work mate-
rials in math, physics, and chemistry represent a 
high-priority first step in this area. 
(6) The scientific and technical workforce at 
Federal agencies, national laboratories, and federally 
supported university-based research programs could 
make a valuable contribution to this effort. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
22:08 Mar 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1464.IH
H1464
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
(7) A Federal oversight role in the creation and 
maintenance of standard, publicly vetted textbooks is 
desirable to ensure that intellectual property is re-
spected and that public standards for quality, edu-
cational effectiveness, and scientific accuracy are 
maintained. 
SEC. 3. OPEN SOURCE MATERIAL REQUIREMENT FOR FED-
ERAL AGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each agency 
that expends more than $10,000,000 in a fiscal year on 
scientific education and outreach shall use at least 2 per-
cent of such funds for the collaboration on the develop-
ment and implementation of open source materials as an 
educational outreach effort in accordance with subsection 
(b). 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The head of each agency de-
scribed in subsection (a) shall, under the joint guidance 
of the Director of the National Science Foundation and 
the Secretary of Energy, collaborate with the heads of any 
of the agencies described in such subsection or any feder-
ally supported laboratory or university-based research pro-
gram to develop, implement, and establish procedures for 
checking the veracity, accuracy, and educational effective-
ness of open source materials that— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
22:08 Mar 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1464.IH
H1464
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS