[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 945 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 945

    To ensure that college textbooks and supplemental materials are 
                       available and affordable.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 20, 2007

Mr. Durbin (for himself and Mr. Coleman) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To ensure that college textbooks and supplemental materials are 
                       available and affordable.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``College Textbook Affordability Act 
of 2007''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND INTENT.

    The purpose of this Act is to ensure that every student in higher 
education is offered better and more timely access to affordable course 
materials by educating and informing faculty, students, administrators, 
institutions of higher education, bookstores, and publishers on all 
aspects of the selection, purchase, sale, and use of the course 
materials. It is the intent of this Act to have all involved parties 
work together to identify ways to decrease the cost of college 
textbooks and supplemental materials for students while protecting the 
academic freedom of faculty members to provide high quality course 
materials for students.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) College textbook.--The term ``college textbook'' means 
        a textbook, or a set of textbooks, used for a course in 
        postsecondary education at an institution of higher education.
            (2) Course schedule.--The term ``course schedule'' means a 
        listing of the courses or classes offered by an institution of 
        higher education for an academic period.
            (3) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1002).
            (4) Publisher.--The term ``publisher'' means a publisher of 
        college textbooks or supplemental materials involved in or 
        affecting interstate commerce.
            (5) Supplemental material.--The term ``supplemental 
        material'' means educational material published or produced to 
        accompany a college textbook.

SEC. 4. PUBLISHER REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) College Textbook Pricing Information.--When a publisher 
provides a faculty member of an institution of higher education with 
information regarding a college textbook or supplemental material 
available in the subject area in which the faculty member teaches, the 
publisher shall include, with any such information and in writing, the 
following:
            (1) The price at which the publisher would make the college 
        textbook or supplemental material available to the bookstore on 
        the campus of, or otherwise associated with, such institution 
        of higher education.
            (2) Any history of revisions for the college textbook or 
        supplemental material.
            (3) Whether the college textbook or supplemental material 
        is available in any other format, including paperback and 
        unbound, and the price at which the publisher would make the 
        college textbook or supplemental material in the other format 
        available to the bookstore on the campus of, or otherwise 
        associated with, such institution of higher education.
    (b) Unbundling of Supplemental Materials.--A publisher that sells a 
college textbook and any supplemental material accompanying such 
college textbook as a single bundled item shall also sell the college 
textbook and each supplemental material as separate and unbundled 
items.

SEC. 5. PROVISION OF ISBN COLLEGE TEXTBOOK INFORMATION IN COURSE 
              SCHEDULES.

    (a) Internet Course Schedules.--Each institution of higher 
education that receives Federal assistance and that publishes the 
institution's course schedule for the subsequent academic period on the 
Internet shall--
            (1) include, in the course schedule, the International 
        Standard Book Number (ISBN) and the retail price for each 
        college textbook or supplemental material required or 
        recommended for a course or class listed on the course schedule 
        that has been assigned such a number; and
            (2) update the information required under paragraph (1) as 
        necessary.
    (b) Written Course Schedules.--In the case of an institution of 
higher education that receives Federal assistance and that does not 
publish the institution's course schedule for the subsequent academic 
period on the Internet, the institution of higher education shall 
include the information required under subsection (a)(1) in any printed 
version of the institution's course schedule and shall provide students 
with updates to such information as necessary.

SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION FOR COLLEGE TEXTBOOK SELLERS.

    An institution of higher education that receives Federal assistance 
shall make available, as soon as is practicable, upon the request of 
any seller of college textbooks (other than a publisher) that meets the 
requirements established by the institution, the most accurate 
information available regarding--
            (1) the institution's course schedule for the subsequent 
        academic period; and
            (2) for each course or class offered by the institution for 
        the subsequent academic period--
                    (A) the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 
                for each college textbook or supplemental material 
                required or recommended for such course or class that 
                has been assigned such a number;
                    (B) the number of students enrolled in such course 
                or class; and
                    (C) the maximum student enrollment for such course 
                or class.
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