BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1052
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1052 (Steinberg and Alquist)
As Amended August 20, 2012
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :32-3
HIGHER EDUCATION 7-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Block, Achadjian, |Ayes:|Gatto, Blumenfield, |
| |Brownley, Fong, Galgiani, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Lara, Portantino | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Fuentes, Hall, Hill, |
| | | |Cedillo, Mitchell, |
| | | |Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Miller |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Provides for the development of low-cost digital
textbooks for 50 lower division courses, as specified, across
the state's public postsecondary education segments, subject to
state and/or private funding. Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes a California Open Education Resources Council
(Council), composed of three faculty members each from the
University of California (UC), the California State University
(CSU), and the California Community Colleges (CCC), to be
appointed no later than April 1, 2013, and to be administered
by the Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates of the
UC, CSU, and CCC.
2)Requires the Council to:
a) Develop a list of 50 lower division courses across the
three segments, as specified, for which high-quality,
affordable digital open source textbooks and related
material shall be developed or acquired.
b) Create and administer a review and approval process for
open source materials, as specified.
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c) Promote strategies for production, access, and use of
open source materials.
d) Solicit student advice and guidance, as specified.
e) Establish a competitive request for proposal process
whereby faculty, publishers, and other interested parties
may apply for funds to produce, in 2013, 50 open source
textbooks and related materials, meeting specified
requirements and be submitted to the California Open Source
Digital Library.
3)Requires open source textbooks to meet specified accessibility
requirements for disabled students.
4)Requires the Council to submit a progress report on
implementing all of the above no later than six months after
this bill becomes operative and a final report by January 1,
2016.
5)States that all of the above is operative only if sufficient
funding is provided in the Budget Act, another statute, and/or
through federal or private funds.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Staff will be needed for several years to support the Council
in fulfilling its responsibilities. Assuming at least one
professional and one support position, plus travel and meeting
expenses for Council members, annual costs of about $200,000
plus around $250,000 in faculty release time for Council
members.
2)Development costs for the 50 open source textbooks are unknown
but will constitute the majority of the estimated $25 million
cost of implementing this bill.
3)To the extent that students were previously purchasing
textbooks for the 50 courses from sales tax-generating
businesses, widespread use of this open source option will
significantly reduce this revenue. There will likewise be a
substantial revenue loss to campus bookstores, which often
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support other campus activities.
4)To the extent a significant reduction in textbook costs for
lower division students makes college more affordable, some
students, particularly at CCC, might be able to take a greater
unit load per semester, thus reducing the time necessary to
complete their education, to the benefit of the student, the
institution, and the state.
COMMENTS : Open Education Resources (OERs) are educational
materials such as textbooks, research articles, videos,
assessments, or simulations that are either licensed under an
open copyright license or are in the public domain. OERs provide
no-cost access and no-cost permission to revise, reuse, remix,
or redistribute the materials. According to a policy brief by
the Center for American Progress and EDUCAUSE, digital OERs
offer many advantages over traditional textbooks, by allowing
students and faculty to access textbooks and related materials
for free online or to purchase hardcopies that are more
affordable than traditional textbooks, enabling faculty to
customize learning materials to suit their course objectives,
and providing students with a more flexible set of tools that
can contribute to a richer learning experience.
According to the author, the cost of textbooks represents a
significant burden to students and families, citing a recent CSU
report estimating that CSU students pay approximately $1,000 per
year for textbooks. The author also notes a finding by the CCC
Academic Senate that the cost of educational materials has
become a "visible barrier to college attendance for many
students."
Analysis prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0004991