Bill > AB798

This bill, the College Textbook Affordability Act of 2015, aims to reduce college costs for students by encouraging faculty to adopt "open educational resources" (OER), which are free, high-quality learning materials like textbooks, courses, and software. It establishes an "Open Educational Resources Adoption Incentive Program" to reward campuses, staff, and faculty for accelerating OER adoption. Funds from this program can be used for faculty and staff training on OER, curating OER, modifying curricula, and providing technology support. To participate, a campus's local academic senate must pass a resolution to increase student access to OER and reduce textbook costs, and then develop a plan, in collaboration with students and administration, outlining how they will use grant money to support faculty in adopting OER. This plan must be approved by the California Open Education Resources Council, which can then award initial grants of up to $50,000 to eligible campuses, with a limit of 100 initial grants per year. Bonus grants are also available if campuses meet certain cost-saving benchmarks. The California Digital Open Source Library, also known as the California Open Online Library for Education, will report annually to the Legislature on the program's effectiveness in increasing OER adoption and decreasing textbook costs. These provisions are set to become inoperative on September 1, 2020, and repealed on January 1, 2021. The bill also reallocates $3 million of existing funds to support this incentive program, with smaller amounts designated for the California Open Online Library for Education and stipends for the California Open Education Resources Council.