WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) has introduced bicameral legislation to make college textbooks more affordable. The Affordable College Textbook Act would authorize a competitive grant program to support the creation and expansion of open college textbooks — textbooks that are available under an open license — which would allow professors, students, researchers and others to freely access the materials.

Textbook costs are one of the most overlooked costs of going to college, but they can be a substantial barrier to pursuing a college education.  According to the College Board, the average student at a four-year public institution of higher education spent $1,290 on college books and supplies during the 2024-2025 academic year. In a 2020 U.S. PIRG survey, 65-percent of students decided not to buy a textbook because of the cost, and 94 percent of those students were worried it would affect their grade negatively.

“A college education is far more expensive than the simple cost of tuition, room, and board — and the textbook market causes serious sticker shock on campuses across the nation,” said Senator King. “Students are faced with numerous additional fees from the time they move in until the time they graduate.  The Affordable College Textbook Act is a commonsense step toward saving students — and teachers — from the hidden, overlooked fees associated with a college education.  Thanks to my colleagues for prioritizing the success of the next generation of students.”

The Affordable College Textbook Act expands and updates provisions from the College Textbook Affordability Act which was included in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act. The provisions aimed to make more information available to students looking to manage college textbook costs. The 2008 law required textbook publishers to disclose to faculty the cost of a textbook to their students, required schools to publish textbook price information in course catalogues when practicable, and required publishers to offer unbundled supplemental materials. The provisions took effect July 1, 2010.

Specifically, the Affordable College Textbook Act would: 

1. Authorize a grant program, similar to the U.S. Department of Education’s Open Textbook Pilot program for which Congress already has appropriated $54 million and saved students more than $250 million.  The grant would support projects at colleges to create and expand the use of open textbooks, with priority for programs that would achieve the highest savings for students;
2. Ensure that any open textbooks or educational materials created using program funds would be free and easily accessible to the public;
3. Require entities who receive funds to complete a report on the effectiveness of the program in achieving savings for students;
4. Improve and update existing requirements for publishers and institutions that provide information on textbook costs, including new disclosure requirements to students on how companies providing digital materials may use student data; and
5. Require the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress with an update on the price trends of college textbooks.

The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Representative Joe Neguese (D-Colo.) in the U.S. House.

Senator King has been a long time advocate of higher education; working to make college more affordable and accessible for Maine students. Last year, he cosponsored bipartisan legislation that would permanently extend a tax-free student loan repayment provision to help ease the burden of student loans. Senator King has also worked to make college campuses safer — introducing bipartisan legislation to prevent hazing on college campuses, as well as legislation that would require hazing incidents to be reported as part of a college’s annual crime report.

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