This database is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Most entries are legislative, although rules/regulations and executive orders that make substantive changes are included. Every effort is made to collect the latest available version of policies; in some instances, recent changes might not be reflected. For expediency purposes minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) and format.
Please cite use of the database as: Education Commission of the States (ECS) State Policy Database, retrieved [date].
| State |
Status/Date |
Level |
Summary |
| CA | Signed into law 09/2012 | Postsec. | Similar to S.B. 1053 (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_1051-1100/sb_1053_bill_20120905_enrolled.pdf)
From bill summary: Expresses legislative findings and declarations relating to the cost of college and university textbooks. Adds provisions to the Donahoe Higher Education Act to establish the California Open Education Resources Council under the administration of the Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, or a successor group. Specifies that the council has 9 members, including 3 faculty members from each of the public postsecondary segments, selected by the respective faculty senates of each segment. Requires that the appointments to the council be made no later than 90 days after the bill becomes operative.
Requires the California Open Education Resources Council to determine a list of 50 lower-division courses in the public postsecondary segments for which high-quality, affordable, digital open source textbooks and related materials will be developed or acquired. Also requires the council to review and approve developed open source materials and to promote strategies for production, access, and use of open source textbooks to be placed on reserve at campus libraries in accordance with these provisions.
Requires that the council regularly solicit and consider, from each of the statewide student associations of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, advice and guidance on open source textbooks and related materials. Requires the council to establish a competitive request-for-proposal process in which faculty members, publishers, and other interested parties apply for funds to produce, in 2013, 50 high-quality, affordable, digital open source textbooks and related materials, meeting specified requirements. Requires the council to submit a report to the legislature and the governor on the progress of the implementation of these provisions by no later than 6 months after the bill becomes operative and to submit a final report by January 1, 2016.
Extends to digital open source textbooks and related materials existing publisher requirements to make instructional materials accessible in captioned or electronic format, as well as various requirements with respect to use and distribution of electronic and captioned formats of instructional materials by public postsecondary educational institutions. Prescribes a procedure for a request process relating to digital open source textbooks if and when the California Open Source Digital Library is established pursuant to statute.
Provides these provisions become operative only if funding for these purposes is provided in the annual Budget Act or another statute, or through federal or private funds, or through a combination of state, federal, and private funds. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_1051-1100/sb_1052_bill_20120927_chaptered.pdf
Title: S.B. 1052
Source: www.leginfo.ca.gov
|
| CA | Signed into law 09/2012 | Postsec. | Similar to S.B. 1052 (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_1051-1100/sb_1052_bill_20120905_enrolled.pdf)
From bill summary: Expresses legislative findings and declarations relating to the cost of college and university textbooks. Adds provisions to the Donahoe Higher Education Act to establish the California Digital Open Source Library, under the administration of the California State University, in coordination with the California Community Colleges, for the purpose of housing open source materials while providing a Web-based way for students, faculty, and staff to easily find, adopt, utilize, or modify course materials for little or no cost. Provides that the California State University will also act in coordination with the University of California in administering the California Digital Open Source Library if the regents act, by appropriate resolution, to authorize the university to participate in the administration of the library.
Requires that the materials in the library bear a creative commons attribution license that allows others to use, distribute, and create derivative works based upon the digital material while still allowing the authors or creators of the material to receive credit for their efforts. Provides that the provisions added to the Donahoe Higher Education Act by the bill become operative only if funding is provided in an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute, or through federal or private funds, or through a combination of state, federal, and private funds. Provides the bill becomes operative only if SB 1052 becomes operative on or before January 1, 2013, and establishes the California Open Education Resources Council. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_1051-1100/sb_1053_bill_20120927_chaptered.pdf
Title: S.B. 1053
Source: www.leginfo.ca.gov
|
| CA | Signed into law 07/2012 | Postsec. | Requires a textbook publisher, or an agent or employee of a publisher, to provide prescribed data about the textbook to prospective purchasers, including a list of the products offered for sale by the publisher
germane to the prospective purchaser's subject area of interest, the wholesale or retail price of the product, the estimated length of time the publisher intends to keep the product on the market, and, for each new edition of the product, a list of the substantial content differences between the new edition and the previous edition of the textbook. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_1501-1550/sb_1539_bill_20120717_chaptered.pdf
Title: S.B. 1539
Source: www.leginfo.ca.gov
|
| MN | Signed into law 05/2012 | Postsec. | Requires a public postsecondary institution to grant a waiver from the institution's required student health plan, if requested by a student.
Adds categories of students to the types of students who are not required, under current law, to have a statement of immunization on file with the public or private postsecondary institution as a prerequisite to enrolling, subject to exemptions provided in law. Specifically excludes students attending only extension, online, or evening or weekend adult accelerated programs.
Requires MnSCU institutions to compile course schedules with all course materials required and recommended for each course. The course schedule must include, to the extent practicable, information now required of bookstores. Course schedule information must be available on the institution's Web site. Makes notification to the campus bookstore of selected course material mandatory for MnSCU academic departments or instructors. Also requires the notice of selection must be provided to the bookstore and students 45 days, instead of 30 days, before the start of the term in which the selected material will be used. Requires notice 45 days prior to the start of the term if an earlier version of a book is an acceptable substitute for a new edition.
Increases from $300 million to $405 million the maximum amount of the aggregate principal of revenue bonds issued by MnSCU.
Changes "individual" to "person" to accommodate trusts as a designated account owner in the Minnesota college savings plan.
Exempts postsecondary schools offering only avocational, recreational, or remedial subjects from having to be licensed as a private career school if, before August 1, 2008, its name included academy or institute.
Expands the safety officer survivor educational grant program to include grants for graduate education. Sets the maximum award for graduate education at the tuition maximum for four-year programs as set in session law.
Requires the MnSCU board of trustees to establish a work group to study methods to reduce the cost of textbooks for students, including alternative textbook delivery methods, cross-campus delivery, and expanded use of e-books to provide textbook cost savings. Specifies the groups that must be represented on the task force.
Requires the Minnesota Board of Teaching to report to the legislative committees with responsibility for K-12 and Higher Education with recommendations for eliminating lower priority tests to offset the fees charged to students for the new teacher performance assessment.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bin/showPDF.php
Title: S.F. 1573
Source: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/
|
| OR | Signed into law 03/2012 | Postsec. | Calls on the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to convene a work group to examine and recommend adoption of strategies for making textbooks more affordable for students at all post-secondary institutions in the state.
http://www.leg.state.or.us/12reg/measpdf/hb4000.dir/hb4058.en.pdf
Title: H.B. 4058
Source: leg.state.or.us
|
| TX | Signed into law 06/2011 | Postsec. | Defines terms, including "custom textbook" and "textbook bundle". Requires each institution of higher education to compile a course schedule each semester indicating each course offered for the semester, along with a list of the required and recommended textbooks for each course. Requires the list to include specified information about each required and recommended textbook. Requires such information to be provided to students, college bookstores and other bookstores that generally serve the students of the institution. Establishes a process for institutions of higher education to allow students to place textbook orders in a timely manner. Requires institutions of higher education, to the extent practicable, to disseminate information to students on institutional programs related to (1) textbook rentals or used textbook purchases, (2) guaranteed textbook buyback, (3) alternative delivery of textbook content, and (4) other available institutional textbook cost-savings strategies. Requires textbook publishers to provide specified information regarding prices, copyright dates, substantial content revisions, and other textbook formats to faculty or other persons in charge of selecting course materials at institutions of higher education. Requires publishers to make textbook bundle items available as separately priced, unbundled items. http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/pdf/HB00033F.pdf#navpanes=0
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/pdf/HB00033F.pdf#navpanes=0
Title: H.B. 33
Source: www.capitol.state.tx.us
|
| UT | Signed into law 03/2011 | Postsec. | Defines "textbook for a higher education course" to include a textbook in electronic format. Provides a tax exemption for purchase of a textbook for a higher education course. http://le.utah.gov/~2011/bills/sbillenr/sb0069.pdf
Title: S.B. 69
Source: le.utah.gov
|
| PA | Veto overridden: legislature has overridden governor's veto 11/2010 | P-12
Postsec. | Requires that faculty members consider the least costly practices when assigning textbooks. Requires institutions of higher education to post specific information regarding course materials to the institution's website and provide outlined information to the campus bookstore. Requires publishers to indicate the price of materials (including customized items), copyright dates of the three previous editions of the materials and the substantial revisions made, and whether the materials are avaialble in other formats. Requires the state board of education to establish an advisory committee on college textbook policies.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2009&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=0101&pn=4389
Title: H.B. 101 - Article XX-F
Source: http://www.legis.state.pa.us
|
| MI | Signed into law 10/2010 | Postsec. | Requires each public university to develop policies for minimizing the cost of textbooks and course materials used at the university while maintaining quality of education and academic freedom; Details what such policies must include and requires each public university to submit, by February 1, 2011, a report to the legislature on the policies developed pursuant to this section. http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2009-2010/publicact/htm/2010-PA-0203.htm
Title: S.B. 1157 - Sec. 426
Source: http://www.legislature.mi.gov
|
| CA | Signed into law 09/2010 | Postsec. | Requires the Trustees of the California State University (CSU), and requests the Regents of the University of California (UC) to review and revise their student transfer policies to ensure that faculty may choose textbooks regardless of the publication date for as long as the textbook is available and the information provided is current and reflects contemporary thinking. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_2201-2250/ab_2203_bill_20100929_chaptered.pdf
Title: A.B. 2203
Source: www.leginfo.ca.gov
|
| NY | Signed into law 07/2010 | Postsec. | From bill analysis: Extends the expiration date of a provision that requires publishers or manufacturers to provide additional instructional material for college students with disabilities, for an additional 3 years. http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A10118&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y
Title: A.B. 10118
Source: assembly.state.ny.us
|
| FL | Signed into law 05/2010 | Postsec. | Requires faculty to determine, before a textbook is adopted, the extent to which an open-access textbook may exist and be used; requires polices addressing the availability of required textbooks to students otherwise unalbe to afford the cost to consider the extent to which an open-access textbook may be used; encourages faculty and academic departments to participate in the development, adaptation and review of open-access textbooks, particularly for high-demand general education courses.
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h5201er.docx&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=5201&Session=2010
Title: HB 5201-Sec. 4
Source: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov
|
| MN | Signed into law 05/2010 | Postsec.
Community College | Directs OHE to monitor the implementation of federal requirements for disclosure of information to students on textbooks, including pricing and other information and report to the legislature by February 1, 2011. Provides an immediate effective date.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bin/bldbill.php?bill=S0184.3.html&session=ls86
Title: S.F. 184
Source: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/
|
| CA | Signed into law 10/2009 | Postsec. | Requires that publishers of textbooks offered for sale at a public or a private postsecondary institution of education make the textbooks available, in whole or in part, to the extent practicable, in an electronic format by January 2020. Requires that electronic versions of textbooks include the same content as the printed versions and would allow the electronic versions to be copy-protected. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sb_48_bill_20091011_chaptered.pdf
Title: S.B. 48
Source: www.leginfo.ca.gov
|
| CA | Signed into law 10/2009 | Postsec. | Relates to existing law which requires publishers and manufacturers of printed instructional material for use at public postsecondary educational institutions to provide the material in an electronic format for use by a disabled student. Requires publishers to provide a captioned format of instructional materials or an electronic format of those materials and a license to create a captioned format. Authorizes a postsecondary education institution to create a captioned format if a license is provided. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0351-0400/ab_386_bill_20091011_chaptered.pdf
Title: A.B. 386
Source: www.leginfo.ca.gov
|
| TX | Issued 09/2009 | Postsec. | Directs the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in cooperation with Texas public institutions of higher education, to undertake a comprehensive review of opportunities for achieving cost efficiencies, including:
--State funding based on student course completion
--Restructuring the state's financial aid programs to improve administrative efficiencies and to provide financial aid to students who work hard to academically prepare for college
--Academic program consolidation and elimination of programs that produce relatively few graduates
--Faculty workload
--Articulation agreements between two-year and four-year institutions
--Distance learning
--Alternatives to creating new campuses
--Course redesign to improve quality and reduce instructional costs for more courses
--Cooperative, cross-system contracting and purchasing
--Space utilization
--Energy use
--Cost of instructional materials.
Also directs the higher education coordinating board to conduct a review of higher education cost efficiencies implemented in other states and other countries. Directs the higher Education Coordinating Board, Based on the findings of this review, to develop practices, policies and recommendations for cost-containment among public institutions of higher education and submit these to the governor, legislature and public institutions of higher education by November 1, 2010.
Executive order: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/index.cfm?ObjectID=A3C6E9A3-CE4A-E4DE-C6D8183684DC9CD6
Final report (November 2010): http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/files//dmfile/CostEfficiencies11.19.2010.pdf
Draft report (July 21, 2010): http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/index.cfm?objectid=23A87B1E-DFF7-820A-C807155DB1EB855B
THECB Web page about the advisory committee on higher education cost efficiencies: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/index.cfm?ObjectID=9D89F7D3-F892-EEA0-D923B6D6D465D781
Title: E.O. RP73
Source: www.thecb.state.tx.us
|
| IL | Signed into law 08/2009 | Postsec. | Creates the Transparency in College Textbook Publishing Practices Act. Requires each publisher of college textbooks to disclose to a faculty member (or other entity in charge of selecting college textbooks) the copyright dates of previous editions of the textbook, a description of substantial content changes made between the current edition of the college textbook or supplemental materials and the previous edition, and the existence and price of alternative formats of the textbook or supplemental materials. Requires publishers of college textbooks to offer all bundled textbooks for sale as individual textbooks. Defines "bundled textbooks" as one or more college textbooks or other supplemental materials that may be packaged together to be sold as course materials for one price. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/96/HB/PDF/09600HB0461lv.pdf
Title: H.B. 461
Source: www.ilga.gov/legislation
|
| TX | Signed into law 06/2009 | Postsec. | Requires each institution of higher education to provide all students with written notification on the availability of required textbooks through university-affiliated bookstores and retailers other than university-affiliated bookstores. http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/pdf/HB01096F.pdf
Title: H.B. 1096
Source: www.legis.state.tx.us
|
| TX | Signed into law 06/2009 | Postsec. | Directs the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to identify achievable cost-saving measures at public institutions of higher education. Directs the board to report the results of the study by January 31, 2011 to the governor and lieutenant governor, and specified legislative leaders. Requires that the report include an estimate of the amount of money that would be saved in a five-year period through the implementation of each recommendation.
Directs the board to conduct a study and recommend policies on the use and availability of electronic textbooks in higher education in this state and in other states. Provides the study and policy recommendations must focus on the results of the University of Texas - Austin pilot and must address methods for encouraging the use of electronic textbooks at public or private institutions of higher education in the state. Directs the board to make an initial report and recommendations by December 1, 2010. http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/pdf/HB04149F.pdf
Title: H.B. 4149
Source: www.legis.state.tx.us
|
| TX | Signed into law 06/2009 | P-12
Postsec.
Community College | Defines open-source textbooks as textbooks downloadable from the Internet at no cost to the student. Requires districts and charter schools to annually certify that, for each subject in the required curriculum and all grade levels, the district provides every student with textbooks, electronic textbooks or instructional materials that cover all elements of the state board-adopted essential knowledge and skills for that subject and grade level. Establishes provisions allowing institutions of higher education to place open-source textbooks on the secondary-level textbook adoption list. Provides that one criterion for adoption is that, for a textbook for a senior-level course, a student who successfully completes a course based on the textbook will be prepared, without remediation, for entry into the eligible institution's freshman-level course in that subject, and that, for a textbook for a junior-level and senior-level course, a student who successfully completes the junior-level course based on the textbook will be prepared for entry into the senior-level course.
Adds new section 31.0261 allowing the state board to execute a contract for the printing of an open-source textbook listed on the state textbook adoption list. Establishes provisions for the purchase of open-source textbooks by the commissioner of education. Requires that a state-developed open-source textbook be irrevocably owned by or licensed to the state. Authorizes the commissioner of education to issue a request for proposals for a state-developed open-source textbook. Establishes prerequisites for the approval of an open-source textbook, and establishes provisions for the revision of open-source textbooks. Requires the commissioner to provide for special and bilingual state-developed open-source textbooks in the same manner as non-open-source textbooks for these populations. Provides for costs and distribution of open-source textbooks. Directs the commissioner to develop a schedule for the adoption of state-developed open-source textbooks. Requires a district or charter school that selects an open-source textbook to requisition a sufficient number of printed copies for use by students unable to access the textbook electronically, unless the district prints copies or provides electronic access to the textbook at no cost to the student. Permits printed copies of open-source textbooks that a district does not intend to use for another student to become the property of the student. Requires textbook publishers to deliver open-source textbooks at no charge to districts or the state. http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/pdf/HB02488F.pdf
Title: H.B. 2488
Source: www.legis.state.tx.us
|
| MD | Signed into law 04/2009 | Postsec.
Community College | Requires public institutions of higher education in the state, excluding overseas programs of the University of Maryland University College, to develop and implement campaigns, processes, practices, and procedures relating to college textbooks and supplemental material regarding content revisions, availability, and cost; requires publishers of college textbooks to disclose specified information to faculty, textbook adopting entities, or institution administrations.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2009rs/bills/hb/hb0085e.pdf
Title: H.B. 85; S.B. 183
Source: http://mlis.state.md.us/
|
| WA | Signed into law 04/2009 | Postsec. | Requires that information be disclosed to students attending a postsecondary institution concerning required course materials, including titles, authors, editions, and prices, at least four weeks before the start of the class for which the materials are required; requires that faculty and staff members consider adopting free, open textbooks when available, and consider working with college librarians to put together collections of free online web and library resources. Chapter 241
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2009-10/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Law%202009/1025-S2.SL.pdf
Title: H.B. 1025
Source: http://apps.leg.wa.gov
|
|