Requires the boards of trustees of the state university of New York and the city university of New York each to conduct and report on the availability and accessibility of alternative high-quality, lower cost course resources in lieu of traditional textbooks.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2893
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KIM -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Higher Education
AN ACT requiring the boards of trustees of the state university of New
York and the city university of New York to conduct a joint study and
report on the availability and accessibility of alternative high-qual-
ity, lower cost course resources in lieu of traditional textbooks
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The board of trustees of the state university of New York
2 shall conduct a study and prepare a report on the availability and
3 accessibility of alternative high-quality, lower-cost course resources
4 in lieu of traditional textbooks, which may include open education
5 resources, online textbooks and other related educational materials, to
6 students enrolled in the state university or a community college. The
7 report shall include, but not be limited to:
8 (a) an overview of current initiatives undertaken by the board of
9 trustees of the state university of New York to facilitate access to
10 high-quality, lower-cost alternatives to traditional textbooks;
11 (b) information related to average traditional textbook costs, the
12 number of students who have used alternative high-quality, lower-cost
13 course resources, and cost savings of students who have purchased such
14 high-quality, lower-cost alternatives in lieu of traditional textbooks;
15 (c) any challenges associated with making more alternative high-quali-
16 ty, lower-cost course resources widely available;
17 (d) information regarding other states' best practices, models and
18 initiatives to reduce overall textbook costs at institutions of higher
19 education; and
20 (e) recommendations on how to expand the use, accessibility, and
21 distribution of alternative high-quality, lower-cost course resources.
22 § 2. The board of trustees of the city university of New York shall
23 conduct a study and prepare a report on the availability and accessibil-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03875-01-9
A. 2893 2
1 ity of alternative high-quality, lower-cost course resources in lieu of
2 traditional textbooks, which may include open education resources,
3 online textbooks and other related educational materials, to students
4 enrolled in the city university of New York. The report shall include,
5 but not be limited to:
6 (a) an overview of current initiatives undertaken by the board of
7 trustees of the city university of New York to facilitate access to
8 high-quality, lower-cost alternatives to traditional textbooks;
9 (b) information related to average traditional textbook costs, the
10 number of students who have used alternative high-quality, lower-cost
11 course resources, and cost savings of students who have purchased such
12 high-quality, lower-cost alternatives in lieu of traditional textbooks;
13 (c) any challenges associated with making more alternative high-quali-
14 ty, lower-cost course resources widely available;
15 (d) information regarding other states' best practices, models and
16 initiatives to reduce overall textbook costs at institutions of higher
17 education; and
18 (e) recommendations on how to expand the use, accessibility, and
19 distribution of alternative high-quality, lower-cost course resources.
20 § 3. The board of trustees of the state university of New York and the
21 board of trustees of the city university of New York shall submit a
22 final report of its findings and recommendations to the governor, tempo-
23 rary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the
24 chairs of the higher education committees in the assembly and senate
25 within one year of the effective date of this act.
26 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.