S. 740 — Affordable College Textbook Act

This section states congressional findings on the high cost of college textbooks (e.g., $1,290 average student budget for books and supplies at 4-year public institutions in the 2024–2025 academic year; 82% price increase for new textbooks from 2002 to 2012), the potential of open educational resources to save students more than $1 billion annually, prior federal efforts to address costs, and the need for accessibility to individuals with disabilities.

This section establishes a competitive grant program administered by the Secretary of Education to eligible entities—institutions of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 1001]), consortia of such institutions, or consortia of states on behalf of such institutions—to support projects expanding the use of open textbooks (i.e., open educational resources [as defined in section 133 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015b)] usable in place of textbooks for postsecondary courses) for student savings while maintaining or improving instruction and learning outcomes. Grant applications, developed after consultation with relevant faculty (i.e., tenure-track and contingent), must describe the project and include plans for promoting and tracking open textbook use and savings; identifying marketplace gaps and creating or adapting textbooks; quality and accuracy review; assessing impacts on instruction, outcomes, and costs; disseminating results and promoting adoption; professional development; post-grant updates; and accessibility for students with disabilities. The Secretary gives special consideration to applications demonstrating the greatest potential for student savings, external expansion, high-quality and adaptable open textbooks (especially for high-enrollment courses), and institutional partnerships (e.g., campus bookstores); grant funds support professional development, textbook creation or adaptation, supplemental materials (including for students with disabilities), and efficacy research; and new works must be released under a non-exclusive, royalty-free license with attribution.

This section revises Higher Education Act requirements for disclosing college textbook and supplemental material information (20 U.S.C. 1015b) to promote open educational resources (OER) (i.e., freely available teaching, learning, or research materials), digital privacy protections, and lower-cost options. Specifically, it (1) adds an OER definition in subsection (b)(6) in place of the prior "integrated textbook" definition and redefines paragraph (9) as a college textbook that may include printed materials, website access, and electronically distributed materials; (2) in publisher disclosure requirements under subsection (c)(1), broadens the scope to entities aiding in course material discovery and procurement, requires disclosure of OER status and—for digital formats—a summary of student data collection terms and opt-out options, and clarifies availability to institutions; (3) in subsection (d), revises institution course schedule disclosures to include retail prices, fees, OER status, and—for digital materials—links to publisher data summaries (replacing prior ISBN-only focus and allowing status notations if information is unavailable); (4) replaces subsection (e) to require institutions to assist affiliated college bookstores in accessing course information to verify availability, source lower-cost alternatives (including presenting them to faculty), and offer format options, with authority to set faculty due dates; and (5) in subsection (f), adds "available open educational resources" to the nonexclusive list of course materials.

This section states the sense of Congress that institutions of higher education should encourage faculty to consider open textbooks when selecting course materials, consistent with academic freedom principles that affirm faculty's right and responsibility to choose pedagogically appropriate materials.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States (GAO) to submit a report to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, not later than three years after enactment, on the cost of textbooks to students at institutions of higher education. As background, section 133 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015b) promotes affordable course materials through transparency requirements on textbook pricing, bundling, and alternatives such as open educational resources. The report must examine (1) implementation of that section as amended by section 4 of this Act—including availability of textbook and open educational resource information on course schedules, publisher compliance, and costs and benefits to institutions, faculty, and students; (2) changes in textbook costs; (3) contributing factors, including open textbooks; (4) the extent of open textbook use at institutions; and (5) how institutions track open textbooks' impact on instruction and student learning outcomes.