I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3538 
To expand the use of open textbooks in order to achieve savings for students. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 19, 2013 
Mr. HINOJOSA (for himself and Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To expand the use of open textbooks in order to achieve 
savings for students. 
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 ‘‘Affordable College 
Textbook Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The high cost of college textbooks continues 
to be a barrier for many students in achieving high-
er education. 
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(2) According to the College Board, during the 
2012–2013 academic year, the average student 
budget for college books and supplies was $1,200. 
(3) The Government Accountability Office 
found that new textbook prices increased 82 percent 
over the last decade and that although Federal ef-
forts to increase price transparency have provided 
students and families with more and better informa-
tion, more must be done to address rising costs. 
(4) The growth of the Internet has enabled the 
creation and sharing of digital content, including 
open educational resources that can be freely used 
by students, teachers, and members of the public. 
(5) Using open educational resources in place of 
traditional materials in large-enrollment college 
courses can reduce textbook costs by 80 to 100 per-
cent. 
(6) Federal investment in expanding the use of 
open educational resources could significantly lower 
college textbook costs and reduce financial barriers 
to higher education, while making efficient use of 
taxpayer funds. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE.—The term ‘‘edu-
cational resource’’ means an educational material 
that can be used in postsecondary instruction, in-
cluding textbooks and other written or audiovisual 
works. 
(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(3) OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE.—The term 
‘‘open educational resource’’ means an educational 
resource that is licensed under an open license and 
made freely available online to the public. 
(4) OPEN LICENSE.—The term ‘‘open license’’ 
means a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, per-
petual, irrevocable copyright license granting the 
public permission to access, reproduce, publicly per-
form, publicly display, adapt, distribute, and other-
wise use the work and adaptations of the work for 
any purpose, conditioned only on the requirement 
that attribution be given to authors as designated. 
(5) OPEN TEXTBOOK.—The term ‘‘open text-
book’’ means an open educational resource or set of 
open educational resources that either is a textbook 
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or can be used in place of a textbook for a postsec-
ondary course at an institution of higher education. 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap-
propriated under subsection (i), the Secretary shall make 
grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to sup-
port pilot programs that expand the use of open textbooks 
in order to achieve savings for students. 
(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the term ‘‘el-
igible entity’’ means an institution of higher education or 
group of institutions of higher education. 
(c) APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desiring 
a grant under this section, after consultation with 
relevant faculty (including those engaged in the cre-
ation of open educational resources), shall submit an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
manner, and accompanied by such information as 
the Secretary may reasonably require. 
(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall include a description of 
the project to be completed with grant funds and— 
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(A) a plan for promoting and tracking the 
use of open textbooks in postsecondary courses 
offered by the eligible entity, including an esti-
mate of the projected savings that will be 
achieved for students; 
(B) a plan for evaluating, before creating 
new open educational resources, whether exist-
ing open educational resources could be used or 
adapted for the same purpose; 
(C) a plan for quality review and review of 
accuracy of any open educational resources to 
be created or adapted through the grant; 
(D) a plan for disseminating information 
about the results of the project to institutions 
of higher education outside of the eligible enti-
ty, including promoting the adoption of any 
open textbooks created or adapted through the 
grant; and 
(E) a statement on consultation with rel-
evant faculty, including those engaged in the 
creation of open educational resources, in the 
development of the application. 
(d) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—In awarding grants 
under this section, the Secretary shall give special consid-
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eration to applications that demonstrate the greatest po-
tential to— 
(1) achieve the highest level of savings for stu-
dents through sustainable expanded use of open 
textbooks in postsecondary courses offered by the el-
igible entity; 
(2) expand the use of open textbooks at institu-
tions of higher education outside of the eligible enti-
ty; and 
(3) produce— 
(A) the highest quality open textbooks; 
(B) open textbooks that can be most easily 
utilized and adapted by faculty members at in-
stitutions of higher education; 
(C) open textbooks that correspond to the 
highest enrollment courses at institutions of 
higher education; and 
(D) open textbooks created or adapted in 
partnership with entities, including campus 
bookstores, that will assist in marketing and 
distribution of the open textbook. 
(e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 
a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 
carry out any of the following activities to expand the use 
of open textbooks: 
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(1) Professional development for faculty and 
staff members at institutions of higher education, in-
cluding the search for and review of open textbooks. 
(2) Creation or adaptation of open educational 
resources, especially open textbooks. 
(3) Development or improvement of tools and 
informational resources that support the use of open 
textbooks. 
(4) Research evaluating the efficacy of the use 
of open textbooks for achieving savings for students. 
(5) Partnerships with other entities, including 
other institutions of higher education, for-profit or-
ganizations, or nonprofit organizations, to carry out 
any of the activities described in paragraphs (1) 
through (4). 
(f) LICENSE.—Educational resources created or 
adapted under subsection (e) shall be licensed under an 
open license. 
(g) ACCESS AND DISTRIBUTION.—The full and com-
plete digital content of each educational resource created 
or adapted under subsection (e) shall be made available 
free of charge to the public— 
(1) on an easily accessible and interoperable 
website, which shall be identified to the Secretary by 
the eligible entity; and 
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