Bill Text: NY S07508 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-06 - REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION [S07508 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S07508-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7508
                    IN SENATE
                                       May 6, 2016
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. HAMILTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed 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-
    24  ity of alternative high-quality, lower-cost course resources in lieu  of
    25  traditional  textbooks,  which  may  include  open  education resources,
    26  online textbooks and other related educational  materials,  to  students
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15197-02-6
        S. 7508                             2
     1  enrolled  in  the city university of New York. The report shall include,
     2  but not be limited to:
     3    (a)  an  overview  of  current  initiatives undertaken by the board of
     4  trustees of the city university of New  York  to  facilitate  access  to
     5  high-quality, lower-cost alternatives to traditional textbooks;
     6    (b)  information  related  to  average traditional textbook costs, the
     7  number of students who have used  alternative  high-quality,  lower-cost
     8  course  resources,  and cost savings of students who have purchased such
     9  high-quality, lower-cost alternatives in lieu of traditional textbooks;
    10    (c) any challenges associated with making more alternative high-quali-
    11  ty, lower-cost course resources widely available;
    12    (d) information regarding other states'  best  practices,  models  and
    13  initiatives  to  reduce overall textbook costs at institutions of higher
    14  education; and
    15    (e) recommendations on how  to  expand  the  use,  accessibility,  and
    16  distribution of alternative high-quality, lower-cost course resources.
    17    § 3. The board of trustees of the state university of New York and the
    18  board  of  trustees  of  the  city university of New York shall submit a
    19  final report of its findings and recommendations to the governor, tempo-
    20  rary president of the senate, the  speaker  of  the  assembly,  and  the
    21  chairs  of  the  higher  education committees in the assembly and senate
    22  within one year of the effective date of this act.
    23    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.