Florida Senate - 2020                              CS for SB 602
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Education; and Senator Montford
       
       
       
       
       
       581-02001A-20                                          2020602c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Open Educational Resources
    3         Grant Program; creating s. 1004.086, F.S.;
    4         establishing the Open Educational Resources Grant
    5         Program; requiring the Department of Education, the
    6         Board of Governors, and the State Board of Education
    7         to administer the program; providing the purpose of
    8         the program; defining the term “open educational
    9         resources”; authorizing state universities and Florida
   10         College System institutions to submit applications for
   11         grant awards under the program; requiring the
   12         department, in coordination with specified entities,
   13         to consider all applications; authorizing the
   14         department in coordination with the boards to make
   15         awards; requiring participating state universities and
   16         Florida College System institutions to use grant funds
   17         for a specified purpose and, in curating and adopting
   18         open educational resources, to give priority to
   19         certain courses; requiring the state board to adopt
   20         rules; authorizing the Board of Governors to adopt
   21         regulations; specifying that implementation of the
   22         program is subject to legislative appropriation;
   23         providing an effective date.
   24          
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Section 1004.086, Florida Statutes, is created
   28  to read:
   29         1004.086 Open educational resources grant program.—
   30         (1)(a) There is created the Open Educational Resources
   31  Grant Program, which shall be administered by the Department of
   32  Education in coordination with the Board of Governors and the
   33  State Board of Education. The purpose of the program is to
   34  provide grant assistance to state universities and Florida
   35  College System institutions for the development of high-quality,
   36  low-cost open educational resources for students.
   37         (b) The term “open educational resources” means licensed
   38  teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the
   39  public domain or have been released under a license that allows
   40  their free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with others.
   41  The term includes open-access textbooks and instructional
   42  materials.
   43         (2) A state university or Florida College System
   44  institution may submit an application in a format prescribed by
   45  the department to be awarded a grant under the program. The
   46  department, in coordination with the Board of Governors and the
   47  State Board of Education, shall consider each proposal and may
   48  award grants to state universities and Florida College System
   49  institutions that demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the
   50  department and the boards, a plan for the development of open
   51  educational resources.
   52         (3) Each participating state university and Florida College
   53  System institution shall use the grant to curate or adopt open
   54  educational resources for general education courses. In curating
   55  and adopting the open educational resources, each state
   56  university and Florida College System institution must give
   57  priority to required general education courses as provided in
   58  the statewide articulation agreement.
   59         (4) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, and the
   60  Board of Governors may adopt regulations, to implement this
   61  section.
   62         (5) Implementation of the program is subject to legislative
   63  appropriation.
   64         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.