Affordable College Textbook Act reintroduced in U.S. Congress

[Amy Hofer]

Hi all, 

I'm excited to share that Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is a cosponsor of the Affordable College Textbook Act, which would continue funding the federal OER grant program. Open Oregon Educational Resources endorsed the legislation and has benefitted from an Open Textbook Pilot grant for the past four years. There are more details in Nicole's email below.

Here's the link to email Senator Wyden to thank him for his support.

:)

Amy

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Nicole Allen <nic...@sparcopen.org>
Date: Thu, Feb 27, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Subject: [SPARC OE Forum] Affordable College Textbook Act reintroduced in U.S. Congress
To: SPARC Open Education Forum <oef...@sparcopen.org>, CCCOER Advisory <cccoer-...@googlegroups.com>

Dear open education colleagues,

Just in time for international Open Education Week next week, the Affordable College Textbook Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. Congress. The bill aims to reduce the cost of textbooks by expanding the use and awareness of open educational resources at college and university campuses. The Senate bill is sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO) will introduce companion legislation in the House. SPARC strongly supports this bill, and you can read more in SPARC’s news post and Senator Durbin’s press release. 

The Affordable College Textbook Act would:

• Authorize a U.S. federal grant program, similar to the Open Textbook Pilot, to support projects at colleges and universities to create and expand the use of open textbooks with priority for projects that will achieve the highest savings for students.
• Improve and update existing requirements for publishers and institutions that provide information on textbook costs for required materials to students on course schedules, including a requirement to inform students about the terms under which publishers collect and use their data. 
• Codify strong definitions of OER and open licensing to ensure that materials created with federal funds under the bill have the maximum benefit for students and the public. 

If you’re represented by members of the U.S. Congress, you can show your support for the Affordable College Textbook Act by asking your Senators and Representative to become co-sponsors. Visit the SPARC policy page for more information.

Cheers,

Nicole

Nicole Starr Allen

Director of Open Education | SPARC

1201 Connecticut Ave NW, #608
Washington, DC 20036 USA
+1 (202) 750-1637
nic...@sparcopen.org
@txtbks she/her

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Amy Hofer (she/her)

Statewide Open Education Program Director

Open Oregon Educational Resources

Schedule a meeting with me