HB 18-1331

HB 18-1331, also known as the Higher Education Open Educational Resources bill, establishes a council within Colorado’s Department of Higher Education aimed at promoting and supporting the use of free or low-cost educational materials in public higher education institutions. The council will develop policies, provide grants to create open educational resources, and report annually on their effectiveness. This initiative is intended to benefit students by reducing textbook costs and improving access to learning materials. Since the bill has been signed into law, it means that these measures are now officially in place and being implemented across Colorado’s higher education system.

Official Summary

Joint Budget Committee. The bill creates the Colorado open educational resources council (council) in the department of higher education (department). The council includes persons appointed by the executive director of the department from public institutions of higher education, including a student; the executive director of the department; the commissioner of education; and the state librarian. The council is directed to: Recommend to the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) statewide policies for promoting the adaptation, creation, and use of open educational resources at public institutions of higher education across the state; Facilitate professional development and the sharing of knowledge regarding open educational resources for public institutions of higher education, faculty, staff, and students; Implement the open educational resources grant program (grant program) created in the bill; and Submit to the commission, the joint budget committee, and the education committees of the general assembly an annual report concerning the use of open educational resources in public institutions of higher education across the state. The bill creates the grant program to provide grants to public institutions of higher education to develop the use of open educational resources at the institutions and grants to faculty and staff, individually or in groups, to create and adapt open educational resources. Each grant recipient must submit information to the council concerning its use of the grant and the effectiveness of the open educational resources initiative funded by the grant. The council must include a summary of the information received in the annual report. The council and the grant program are repealed, effective November 1, 2021. The bill directs the commission to adopt guidelines requiring public institutions of higher education, beginning in the fall of 2021, to inform students concerning those courses that use open educational resources. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

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