,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dbei  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #ad1 #bjad    
,ms4 ,del,bene 7for herself and ,mr4    
,hanna7 introduced the following bill2  
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,education and the ,workforce  ,a ,,bill
  ,to amend the ,higher ,education ,act 
of #aife to lower the cost of college   
education by establishing pilot programs
 to expand student access to digital    
course materials4  #a4 ,short title     
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,electronic ,books ,opening ,opportunity
 for ,knowledge ,act of #bjad or the    
,e-,,book ,act of #bjad4  #b4 ,findings 
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,rising costs are making it increasingly
 difficult for students and their       
families to afford a college education4 
7#b7 ,in addition to the growing price  
of tuition1 fees1 and room and board1   
the average college student in the      
,united ,states must also spend more    
than #a1jjj per year on textbooks and   

supplies4  7#c7 ,new learning           
technologies in higher education provide
 a growing opportunity to reduce the    
cost of course materials for students   
and their families4  7#d7 ,all students 
deserve the opportunity to obtain a     
high-quality education and acquire the  
skills needed to compete in             
#bast-century economy4  #c4 ,purpose    
,the purpose of this ,act is to identify
 savings in the cost of public college  
education for undergraduate students by 
funding pilot programs in institutions  
of higher education to provide expanded 
access to digital course materials as   
part of their academic programs4  #d4   
,grants to ,expand ,access to ,digital  
,course ,materials ,title ,,viii of the 
,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj   
,u4,s4,c4 #aafa;a et seq47 is amended by
 adding at the end the following new    
part3  ,,bb ,grants for the ,expansion  
of ,access to ,digital ,course          
,materials  #hia4 ,grants for ,access to
 ,digital ,course ,materials  7a7       

,grants authorized  7#a7 ,in ,general   
,from amounts made available by the     
,secretary pursuant to subsection 7g71  
the ,secretary may award grants on a    
competitive basis to not more than #aj  
institutions of higher education to     
reduce the cost of attendance for       
undergraduate students by providing such
 students with expanded access to       
digital course materials4  7#b7 ,amount 
of funds to be awarded ,the ,secretary  
shall determine the amount of funds to  
be awarded for each grant based on the  
number of students to be served under   
the grant1 except that no grant under   
this section shall be in an amount that 
is more than #b1jjj1jjj4  7b7           
,application ,an institution desiring to
 obtain a grant under this section shall
 submit an application to the ,secretary
 at such time1 in such form1 and        
accompanied by such information1        
agreements1 and assurances as the       
,secretary may reasonably require4  7c7 
,preference ,in awarding grants under   

this section1 the ,secretary shall give 
preference to applications that         
demonstrate a commitment to serving     
disadvantaged students4  7d7 ,use of    
,funds ,each grant awarded under this   
section shall provide to an institution 
of higher education funds to support a  
pilot program for the institution to    
make digital course materials available 
to undergraduate students in at least   
two different academic departments4     
,such funds may be used for any of the  
following3  7#a7 ,purchasing and        
maintaining electronic equipment or     
software necessary for the operation of 
the pilot program1 including mobile     
computer devices and accompanying       
hardware1 software applications1        
computer systems and platforms1 digital 
and online content1 online instruction1 
and other online services and support4  
7#b7 ,purchasing and maintaining digital
 and online content for the institution 
to make available electronically to     
instructors or students1 including      

paying any copyright fees associated    
with the digital distribution of        
physical course materials4  7#c7 ,hiring
 staff for the administration of the    
pilot program1 with priority given to   
hiring enrolled undergraduate students4 
7#d7 ,building or acquiring extra       
storage space dedicated to equipment    
used for the pilot program4  7#e7       
,revising and adapting academic         
curricula as needed to implement the    
pilot program4  7#f7 ,acquiring such    
other goods or services as the          
,secretary determines appropriate4  7e7 
,reporting requirements  7#a7 ,report to
 the ,secretary ,after a period of time 
to be determined by the ,secretary1 each
 institution of higher education that   
receives a grant under this section     
shall submit to the ,secretary a report 
that includes--  7,a7 an assessment of  
the effectiveness of the pilot program  
funded by the grant in reducing the cost
 of attendance for students2  7,b7 an   
assessment of any impact of the pilot   

program on student achievement2  7,c7 an
 accounting of the purposes for which   
the grant funds were expended2 and  7,d7
 any additional information the         
,secretary reasonably requires4  7#b7   
,report to ,congress ,not later than    
three years after the end of the first  
fiscal year in which a grant is awarded 
under this section1 the ,secretary shall
 submit to ,congress a report on the    
effectiveness of the grants4 ,such      
report shall include--  7,a7 an estimate
 by the ,secretary of the amount of     
money saved by students who participate 
in the pilot programs2  7,b7 a summary  
of the best practices developed in the  
pilot programs2  7,c7 a description of  
the types of digital course materials   
used in the pilot programs1 including   
electronic books1 interactive and       
adaptive digital learning tools1 and    
open educational resources2 and  7,d7   
any recommendations the ,secretary      
determines appropriate regarding future 
congressional action related to student 

access to digital course materials4  7f7
 ,definitions ,in this section3  7#a7   
,cost of attendance ,the term cost of   
attendance has the meaning given the    
term in section #dgb4  7#b7 ,institution
 of higher education ,the term          
institution of higher education has the 
meaning given the term in section       
#aja7;a71 except that such term only    
includes public institutions4  7#c7     
,digital course materials ,the term     
digital course materials includes       
electronic books1 portable document     
format and word-processing documents1   
,internet websites1 interactive and     
adaptive digital learning tools1 open   
educational resources1 and other digital
 and online educational resources4  7#d7
 ,open educational resources ,the term  
open educational resources means digital
 course materials that are made freely  
available online to the public with a   
permanent copyright license granting    
advance permission for the public to    
access1 distribute1 adapt1 and otherwise

 use the work with appropriate          
attribution to the authors as set forth 
in the materials4  7#e7 ,mobile computer
 device ,the term mobile computer device
 means an electronic reader or tablet   
computer4  7#f7 ,disadvantaged student  
,the term disadvantaged student means an
 undergraduate student who is--  7,a7   
from a low-income family2  7,b7 a       
minority2 or  7,c7 from an economically 
or otherwise disadvantaged background4  
7g7 ,funding ,of the funds made         
available in appropriation ,acts for    
fiscal years #bjae1 #bjaf1 and #bjag for
 the purpose of making competitive      
grants to institutions of higher        
education under this ,act1 the          
,secretary may make available to carry  
out this section not more than          
#bj1jjj1jjj4  7h7 ,sunset ,no grants may
 be awarded under this section after    
,september #cj1 #bjag4  4