Colorado § 23-4.5-101 Legislative declaration

Colorado Statutes

§ 23-4.5-101 — Legislative declaration

Colorado § 23-4.5-101

Title 23Postsecondary Education

Art.Open Educational Resources

This text of Colorado § 23-4.5-101 (Legislative declaration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 23-4.5-101 (2026).

Text

(1)The general assembly finds that:

(a)Student expenditures on textbooks and other educational materials represent a significant portion of student educational costs, adding up to, on average, an additional twenty-two percent above the cost of tuition and fees for a first-year community college student. Research concerning the use of open educational resources indicates the use of these resources results in significant savings for students.

(b)Research also indicates that, because of the cost of textbooks and other materials, students often do not buy textbooks or course materials, resulting in poor academic performance, including failing course grades. Other studies indicate that students take fewer courses or drop courses because of the cost of textbooks and materials, exte

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

(1) The general assembly finds that:

(a) Student expenditures on textbooks and other educational materials
represent a significant portion of student educational costs, adding up to, on
average, an additional twenty-two percent above the cost of tuition and fees for a
first-year community college student. Research concerning the use of open
educational resources indicates the use of these resources results in significant
savings for students.

(b) Research also indicates that, because of the cost of textbooks and other
materials, students often do not buy textbooks or course materials, resulting in
poor academic performance, including failing course grades. Other studies indicate
that students take fewer courses or drop courses because of the cost of textbooks
and materials, extending the time to graduation.

(c) Several institutions of higher education across the country have begun
participating in open educational resources consortia that make textbooks, course
activities, and readings available to students online for no cost, resulting in
significant student savings. States and institutions are also beginning to offer
entire courses, sections, and even degrees that are branded as having zero
textbook costs.

(2) The general assembly finds, therefore, that it is appropriate to establish
the Colorado open educational resources council to recommend statewide policies
concerning promoting the use of open educational resources, facilitate knowledge
sharing and professional development to increase and support the statewide use of
open educational resources, and implement a statewide grant program for public
institutions of higher education, faculty, and staff to create and expand the use of
open educational resources.

(3) (a) The general assembly finds that, since the open educational resources
council was established in 2018 and the council began recommending grant
recipients:

(I) Open educational resources practices and philosophy have expanded to
public institutions throughout the state and educators have adopted innovative
methods of teaching and reinvigorating curricula; and

(II) The number of courses that use open educational resources has
significantly increased, saving students almost four million dollars in textbook
costs, thereby improving student equity in higher education and leading to
increased student success.

(b) The general assembly finds, therefore, that it is in the best interests of
the state to continue and expand the open educational resources grant program to
support the continued creation and use of open educational resources for individual
courses and to support the creation and replication of zero-textbook-cost degree
programs.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2018: Entire article added, (HB 18-1331), ch. 186, p. 1252, � 1, effective April 30. L. 2021: (3) added, (SB 21-215), ch. 97, p. 387, � 1, effective May 5.