Stambaugh introduces legislation to reduce college costs - Washington State House Republicans

"In an effort to reduce the amount of money college students spend on textbooks, Rep. Melanie Stambaugh has introduced legislation to expand access to open educational resources (OER) at the state's public, four-year higher education institutions. House Bill 1768 would authorize the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) to award up to six grants of $100,000 each at these institutions to promote the development, adaptation and use of such resources.

'We must uncover and eliminate any barriers that hurt our students' ability to attend and graduate from college,' said Stambaugh, R-Puyallup. 'This proposed grant program would build upon and expand existing OER programs to provide alternatives for students and potentially save them hundreds of dollars on textbooks each quarter.'

Under House Bill 1768, the WSAC would award the grants during the 2017-18 academic year and then be required to provide the Legislature with the following information by Nov. 1, 2019:

• Which public, four-year institutions received the grants;
• How the grant money was used to promote and expand the use of OER;
• What the estimated cost savings were to students as a result of the grants.
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