I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4259 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to lower the cost of college 
education by establishing pilot programs to expand student access to 
digital course materials. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 14, 2014 
Ms. DELBENE (for herself and Mr. HANNA) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to lower the 
cost of college education by establishing pilot programs 
to expand student access to digital course materials. 
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 ‘‘Electronic Books 
Opening Opportunity for Knowledge Act of 2014’’ or the 
‘‘E–BOOK Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Rising costs are making it increasingly dif-
ficult for students and their families to afford a col-
lege education. 
(2) In addition to the growing price of tuition, 
fees, and room and board, the average college stu-
dent in the United States must also spend more 
than $1,000 per year on textbooks and supplies. 
(3) New learning technologies in higher edu-
cation provide a growing opportunity to reduce the 
cost of course materials for students and their fami-
lies. 
(4) All students deserve the opportunity to ob-
tain a high-quality education and acquire the skills 
needed to compete in 21st-century economy. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to identify savings in the 
cost of public college education for undergraduate stu-
dents by funding pilot programs in institutions of higher 
education to provide expanded access to digital course ma-
terials as part of their academic programs. 
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO EXPAND ACCESS TO DIGITAL COURSE 
MATERIALS. 
Title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1161a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new part: 
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‘‘PART BB—GRANTS FOR THE EXPANSION OF 
ACCESS TO DIGITAL COURSE MATERIALS 
‘‘SEC. 891. GRANTS FOR ACCESS TO DIGITAL COURSE MATE-
RIALS. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail-
able by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (g), the 
Secretary may award grants on a competitive basis 
to not more than 10 institutions of higher education 
to reduce the cost of attendance for undergraduate 
students by providing such students with expanded 
access to digital course materials. 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF FUNDS TO BE AWARDED.— 
The Secretary shall determine the amount of funds 
to be awarded for each grant based on the number 
of students to be served under the grant, except that 
no grant under this section shall be in an amount 
that is more than $2,000,000. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—An institution desiring to obtain 
a grant under this section shall submit an application to 
the Secretary at such time, in such form, and accompanied 
by such information, agreements, and assurances as the 
Secretary may reasonably require. 
‘‘(c) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under this 
section, the Secretary shall give preference to applications 
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that demonstrate a commitment to serving disadvantaged 
students. 
‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Each grant awarded under 
this section shall provide to an institution of higher edu-
cation funds to support a pilot program for the institution 
to make digital course materials available to under-
graduate students in at least two different academic de-
partments. Such funds may be used for any of the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) Purchasing and maintaining electronic 
equipment or software necessary for the operation of 
the pilot program, including mobile computer devices 
and accompanying hardware, software applications, 
computer systems and platforms, digital and online 
content, online instruction, and other online services 
and support. 
‘‘(2) Purchasing and maintaining digital and 
online content for the institution to make available 
electronically to instructors or students, including 
paying any copyright fees associated with the digital 
distribution of physical course materials. 
‘‘(3) Hiring staff for the administration of the 
pilot program, with priority given to hiring enrolled 
undergraduate students. 
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‘‘(4) Building or acquiring extra storage space 
dedicated to equipment used for the pilot program. 
‘‘(5) Revising and adapting academic curricula 
as needed to implement the pilot program. 
‘‘(6) Acquiring such other goods or services as 
the Secretary determines appropriate. 
‘‘(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—After a pe-
riod of time to be determined by the Secretary, each 
institution of higher education that receives a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Secretary a re-
port that includes— 
‘‘(A) an assessment of the effectiveness of 
the pilot program funded by the grant in reduc-
ing the cost of attendance for students; 
‘‘(B) an assessment of any impact of the 
pilot program on student achievement; 
‘‘(C) an accounting of the purposes for 
which the grant funds were expended; and 
‘‘(D) any additional information the Sec-
retary reasonably requires. 
‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
three years after the end of the first fiscal year in 
which a grant is awarded under this section, the 
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the 
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