Electronic Books Opening Opportunity for Knowledge Act of 2014 or the E-BOOK Act of 2014 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to up to 10 institutions of higher education (IHEs) to conduct pilot programs to reduce the cost of attendance for undergraduate students by expanding their access to digital course materials.
Directs the Secretary to give a preference to applications that demonstrate a commitment to serving disadvantaged students.
Requires grantees to make digital course materials available to undergraduate students in at least two different academic departments.
Allows the IHEs to use the grant funds to:
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4259 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4259
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to lower the cost of college
education by establishing pilot programs to expand student access to
digital course materials.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 14, 2014
Ms. DelBene (for herself and Mr. Hanna) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to lower the cost of college
education by establishing pilot programs to expand student access to
digital course materials.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Electronic Books Opening Opportunity
for Knowledge Act of 2014'' or the ``E-BOOK Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Rising costs are making it increasingly difficult for
students and their families to afford a college education.
(2) In addition to the growing price of tuition, fees, and
room and board, the average college student in the United
States must also spend more than $1,000 per year on textbooks
and supplies.
(3) New learning technologies in higher education provide a
growing opportunity to reduce the cost of course materials for
students and their families.
(4) All students deserve the opportunity to obtain a high-
quality education and acquire the skills needed to compete in
21st-century economy.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to identify savings in the cost of
public college education for undergraduate students by funding pilot
programs in institutions of higher education to provide expanded access
to digital course materials as part of their academic programs.
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO EXPAND ACCESS TO DIGITAL COURSE MATERIALS.
Title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161a et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new part:
``PART BB--GRANTS FOR THE EXPANSION OF ACCESS TO DIGITAL COURSE
MATERIALS
``SEC. 891. GRANTS FOR ACCESS TO DIGITAL COURSE MATERIALS.
``(a) Grants Authorized.--
``(1) In general.--From amounts made available by the
Secretary pursuant to subsection (g), the Secretary may award
grants on a competitive basis to not more than 10 institutions
of higher education to reduce the cost of attendance for
undergraduate students by providing such students with expanded
access to digital course materials.
``(2) Amount of funds to be awarded.--The Secretary shall
determine the amount of funds to be awarded for each grant
based on the number of students to be served under the grant,
except that no grant under this section shall be in an amount
that is more than $2,000,000.
``(b) Application.--An institution desiring to obtain a grant under
this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time,
in such form, and accompanied by such information, agreements, and
assurances as the Secretary may reasonably require.
``(c) Preference.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Secretary shall give preference to applications that demonstrate a
commitment to serving disadvantaged students.
``(d) Use of Funds.--Each grant awarded under this section shall
provide to an institution of higher education funds to support a pilot
program for the institution to make digital course materials available
to undergraduate students in at least two different academic
departments. Such funds may be used for any of the following:
``(1) Purchasing and maintaining electronic equipment or
software necessary for the operation of the pilot program,
including mobile computer devices and accompanying hardware,
software applications, computer systems and platforms, digital
and online content, online instruction, and other online
services and support.
``(2) Purchasing and maintaining digital and online content
for the institution to make available electronically to
instructors or students, including paying any copyright fees
associated with the digital distribution of physical course
materials.
``(3) Hiring staff for the administration of the pilot
program, with priority given to hiring enrolled undergraduate
students.
``(4) Building or acquiring extra storage space dedicated
to equipment used for the pilot program.
``(5) Revising and adapting academic curricula as needed to
implement the pilot program.
``(6) Acquiring such other goods or services as the
Secretary determines appropriate.
``(e) Reporting Requirements.--
``(1) Report to the secretary.--After a period of time to
be determined by the Secretary, each institution of higher
education that receives a grant under this section shall submit
to the Secretary a report that includes--
``(A) an assessment of the effectiveness of the
pilot program funded by the grant in reducing the cost
of attendance for students;
``(B) an assessment of any impact of the pilot
program on student achievement;
``(C) an accounting of the purposes for which the
grant funds were expended; and
``(D) any additional information the Secretary
reasonably requires.
``(2) Report to congress.--Not later than three years after
the end of the first fiscal year in which a grant is awarded
under this section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a
report on the effectiveness of the grants. Such report shall
include--
``(A) an estimate by the Secretary of the amount of
money saved by students who participate in the pilot
programs;
``(B) a summary of the best practices developed in
the pilot programs;
``(C) a description of the types of digital course
materials used in the pilot programs, including
electronic books, interactive and adaptive digital
learning tools, and open educational resources; and
``(D) any recommendations the Secretary determines
appropriate regarding future congressional action
related to student access to digital course materials.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Cost of attendance.--The term `cost of attendance'
has the meaning given the term in section 472.
``(2) Institution of higher education.--The term
`institution of higher education' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a), except that such term only includes
public institutions.
``(3) Digital course materials.--The term `digital course
materials' includes electronic books, portable document format
and word-processing documents, Internet websites, interactive
and adaptive digital learning tools, open educational
resources, and other digital and online educational resources.
``(4) Open educational resources.--The term `open
educational resources' means digital course materials that are
made freely available online to the public with a permanent
copyright license granting advance permission for the public to
access, distribute, adapt, and otherwise use the work with
appropriate attribution to the authors as set forth in the
materials.
``(5) Mobile computer device.--The term `mobile computer
device' means an electronic reader or tablet computer.
``(6) Disadvantaged student.--The term `disadvantaged
student' means an undergraduate student who is--
``(A) from a low-income family;
``(B) a minority; or
``(C) from an economically or otherwise
disadvantaged background.
``(g) Funding.--Of the funds made available in appropriation Acts
for fiscal years 2015, 2016, and 2017 for the purpose of making
competitive grants to institutions of higher education under this Act,
the Secretary may make available to carry out this section not more
than $20,000,000.
``(h) Sunset.--No grants may be awarded under this section after
September 30, 2017.''.
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
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