Minnesota Senator Al Franken Pushing Bill for Free College Textbooks

"Al Franken knows how ridiculous the cost of college textbooks can be, and he want to do something about it. That's why the Minnesota senator and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin on Thursday introduced the Affordable College Textbook Act, a bill that would give grants to higher-ed institutions so they can create textbooks accessible for free online—which would, in turn, ostensibly push the costs of textbooks down, the Chicago Maroon reports. "The traditional publishing market is not providing students the materials they need at a cost they can afford," said Durbin, who introduced a similar bill in 2013 that never went anywhere. These "open textbooks" would be available for professors, students, and pretty much anyone who wanted to use and distribute them, City Pages reports."

To read the full article that discusses a new bill proposing legislation to decrease cost of textbooks by increasing open educational resources (specifically open textbooks), go to the link.