The California Higher Education Example

In late 2012 in California, Governor Jerry Brown signed Links to an external site. two bills (SB 1052 Links to an external site. and SB 1053 Links to an external site.) that will provide for the creation of free, openly licensed digital textbooks for the 50 most popular lower-division college courses offered by California colleges. The legislation was introduced by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and passed by the California Senate and Assembly in late August.

A crucial component of the California legislation is that the textbooks developed will be made available under the Creative Commons Attribution license Links to an external site. (CC BY):

The textbooks and other materials are placed under a creative commons attribution license that allows others to use, distribute, and create derivative works based upon the digital material while still allowing the authors or creators to receive credit for their efforts.

The legislation will radically lower of the cost of attending college for students whose faculty members choose to adopt an open textbook.

Governor Brown meets with college students and signs SB 1052 Links to an external site. and SB 1053 Links to an external site..

Some of this page is adapted from Creative Commons Links to an external site..