Senate Bill 810 amends the Education Code and the Government Code to rename the instructional materials allotment as the instructional materials and technology allotment, to rename the state instructional materials fund as the state instructional materials and technology fund, and to change as a purpose for which money in the fund is required to be used the payment of expenses associated with the purchase or licensing of open-source instructional material to the payment of such expenses concerning open education resource instructional material. The bill changes the instructional materials account the commissioner of education is required to maintain for each public school district to the instructional materials and technology account.

Senate Bill 810 requires the State Board of Education (SBOE), in reviewing and adopting instructional materials for elementary and secondary grade levels for each subject in the required curriculum, to consider a district's need for technology as well as instructional materials and authorizes the SBOE in any biennium to limit the adoption of instructional materials to provide sufficient resources to purchase technology resources, including digital curriculum. The bill requires the SBOE to include information regarding open education resource instructional materials during the adoption cycle and authorizes a district or open-enrollment charter school to consider the use of such materials in selecting instructional materials each year. The bill changes the frequency with which the SBOE is required to update the long-range technology-related plan from an update as necessary to an update at least every five years.

Senate Bill 810 requires the commissioner of education to develop and maintain a web portal to assist districts and charter schools in selecting instructional materials and to pay any expenses associated with the web portal using money in the state instructional materials and technology fund. The bill sets out requirements relating to the information to be included in the web portal, including a requirement for a repository of open education resource instructional materials and other electronic instructional materials that districts and charter schools may access at no cost.

Senate Bill 810 includes among the textbook cost-savings information a public institution of higher education is required to make reasonable efforts to disseminate to its students information regarding the availability of courses and sections of courses that require or recommend only open educational resources. The bill sets out related requirements for certain textbook lists provided by an institution of higher education or a college bookstore.

Senate Bill 810 requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish and administer a temporary grant program to encourage faculty at public institutions of higher education to adopt, modify, redesign, or develop courses that use only open educational resources. The bill provides for the grant program's application and review process and sets out certain eligibility restrictions for a grantee and reporting requirements for a grantee and for the coordinating board. The bill requires the coordinating board to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of creating a state repository of open educational resources and sets out the factors the study must consider and reporting requirements regarding the study's results.

Senate Bill 810	Senate Author: Kolkhorst et al.
Effective: 6-9-17	House Sponsor: Howard