HR 3512 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To ensure that college textbooks and supplemental materials are available and affordable.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

September 10, 2007

Ms. CARSON (for herself, Mr. WU, Mr. KAGEN, Ms. HOOLEY, and Mr. SCOTT of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and LaborCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To ensure that college textbooks and supplemental materials are available and affordable.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `College Textbook Affordability and Transparency Act of 2007'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

(a) Findings- Congress makes the following findings:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) According to a 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office (in this section referred to as `GAO'), college textbook costs have risen at twice the rate of inflation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) According to the GAO report, the cost of textbooks can increase a student's overall college costs from 8 percent at private institutions to over 72 percent at some public institutions and community colleges.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) According to a report by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, requested by Congress, current grant and scholarship programs which can barely meet the challenge of rising tuition costs are not sufficient to mitigate the costs of college textbooks.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) According to the GAO report, publishers have begun to develop and distribute alternatives to college textbooks in order to provide less expensive materials, but they have had to incorporate the development costs into the prices of domestic textbook sales.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) According to the GAO report, there has not been a sufficient demand for textbook alternatives to offset publishers' development costs and reduce the overall costs of college textbooks.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) According to the GAO report, publishers have engaged in agreements with overseas distributors to restrict the re-importation of overseas textbooks in the United States, regardless of content similarities, thus restricting students from purchasing lower-cost textbooks from overseas.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Sense of Congress- It is the sense of Congress that:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) There is not sufficient communication and transparency between all the stakeholders in the textbook market, leading to unnecessary frustrations and misunderstandings about the rising costs of college textbooks.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) The textbook market by its nature puts students at a disadvantage when it comes to affecting the prices of textbooks because it does not include them in the decision-making process for ultimate textbook purchases.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) Students should be fully informed about the costs of textbooks before registering for classes in order to be aware of the full cost of higher education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) Students should have the ability, whenever possible, to seek out and purchase lower-cost alternatives to textbooks so as to reduce the cost of higher education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. PURPOSE AND INTENT.

The purpose of this Act is to ensure that every student in higher education is offered better and more timely access to affordable course materials by educating and informing faculty, students, administrators, institutions of higher education, bookstores, distributors, and publishers on all aspects of the selection, purchase, sale, and use of the course materials. It is the intent of this Act--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) to have all involved parties work together to identify ways to decrease the cost of college textbooks and supplemental materials for students while protecting the academic freedom of faculty members to select high quality course materials for students;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) textbook publishers and distributors should work with faculty to understand the cost to students of purchasing faculty selected textbooks, including the disclosure of prices and bundling practices;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) college bookstores should work with faculty to review timelines and processes for ordering and stocking selected textbooks, and disclose textbook costs to faculty and students in a timely manner;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) institutions of higher education should be encouraged to implement numerous options to address textbook affordability; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) institutions of higher education should work with student organizations to help students understand the factors driving textbook costs and available methods and resources to mitigate the effects of those costs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) COLLEGE TEXTBOOK- The term `college textbook' means a textbook, or a set of textbooks, used for a course in postsecondary education at an institution of higher education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) COURSE SCHEDULE- The term `course schedule' means a listing of the courses or classes offered by an institution of higher education for an academic period.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION- The term `institution of higher education' has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) PUBLISHER- The term `publisher' means a publisher of college textbooks or supplemental materials involved in or affecting interstate commerce.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL- The term `supplemental material' means educational material published or produced to accompany a college textbook, including printed materials, computer disks, web site access, and electronically distributed materials.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. PUBLISHER REQUIREMENTS.

(a) College Textbook Pricing Information- When a publisher provides a faculty member of an institution of higher education with information regarding a college textbook or supplemental material available, the publisher shall include, with any such information and in writing, the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) The price at which the publisher would make the college textbook or supplemental material available to the bookstore on the campus of, or otherwise associated with, such institution of higher education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) The full history of revisions for the college textbook or supplemental material.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) Whether the college textbook or supplemental material is available in any other format, including paperback and unbound, and the price at which the publisher would make the college textbook or supplemental material in the other format available to the bookstore on the campus of, or otherwise associated with, such institution of higher education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Unbundling of Textbooks From Supplemental Materials- A publisher that sells a college textbook and any supplemental material accompanying such college textbook as a single bundled item shall also make available the college textbook and each supplemental material as separate and unbundled items, each separately priced.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 6. PROVISION OF ISBN COLLEGE TEXTBOOK INFORMATION IN COURSE SCHEDULES.

(a) Internet Course Schedules- Each institution of higher education that receives Federal assistance, to the maximum extent practicable, shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) disclose the International Standard Book Number of required and recommended textbooks, related materials and supplies, including retail price information, for each course listed in the institution's course schedule used for pre-registration and registration purposes;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) if the International Standard Book Number is not available for the items listed in paragraph (1), the institution shall use the author and title; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) if the institution determines that the disclosure of the information described in the preceding paragraphs for a course is not practicable, then it should indicate so by placing the designation `To Be Determined' in lieu of the information required under such paragraphs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Written Course Schedules- In the case of an institution of higher education that receives Federal assistance and that does not publish the institution's course schedule for the subsequent academic period on the Internet, the institution of higher education shall include the information required under subsection (a) in any printed version of the institution's course schedule as it is available at the time of the course schedule's printing.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 7. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION FOR COLLEGE TEXTBOOK SELLERS.

An institution of higher education that receives Federal assistance shall make available, as soon as is practicable, upon the request of any seller of college textbooks (other than a publisher) that meets the requirements established by the institution, the most accurate information available regarding--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the institution's course schedule for the subsequent academic period; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) for each course or class offered by the institution for the subsequent academic period--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the information required by section 6(a) for each college textbook or supplemental material required or recommended for such course or class;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the number of students enrolled in such course or class; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) the maximum student enrollment for such course or class.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink