Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
College & Workforce Development Committee
HB 1701
Brief Description: Notifying students of courses with low-cost instructional materials and open educational resources at the four-year institutions of higher education.
Sponsors: Representatives Van Werven, Leavitt, Sutherland, Entenman, Rude, Kraft, Gildon, Young, Jinkins, Bergquist, Doglio and Fey.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Requires the universities, regional universities, and The Evergreen State College to designate whether course materials are "low-cost" in their online course descriptions.
Hearing Date: 2/5/19
Staff:
Background: Affiliated Bookstores.
Bookstores affiliated with public higher education institutes have certain requirements relating to the sale of course materials, such as textbooks and access codes to homework websites. Affiliated bookstores must sell unbundled books, disclose the cost of materials to faculty and staff, disclose how new editions vary from previous editions, and promote book buy-back programs. Finally, with some exceptions, students must be provided with information on required course materials including title, authors, edition, price, and the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) four weeks before the start of the class. Faculty and staff take into account cost when assigning course materials such as adopting the least expensive edition, free or open textbooks when available, or working with librarians to use free online and library resources.
Summary of Bill: The state universities, regional universities, and The Evergreen State College must designate in their online course descriptions which students use to register, whether a course uses OER or low-cost required instructional materials. A course uses low cost instructional materials if the entire cost of the required materials equals fifty dollars or less.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on 11/25/2019.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.