Florida Senate - 2022 SB 7044 By the Committee on Education 581-02860-22 20227044__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to postsecondary education; amending 3 s. 1004.085, F.S.; providing requirements for lists of 4 required and recommended textbooks and instructional 5 materials for Florida College System institution and 6 state university courses; amending s. 1007.24, F.S.; 7 revising the maintenance requirements of, and 8 information that must be included in, the statewide 9 course numbering system; requiring certain 10 postsecondary educational institutions registration 11 processes to include specified information; requiring 12 certain postsecondary educational institutions to 13 accept and apply general education courses and credit 14 in a specified manner; requiring the State Board of 15 Education to adopt rules; providing requirements for 16 such rules; creating s. 1008.47, F.S.; defining the 17 term postsecondary education institution; 18 prohibiting public postsecondary education 19 institutions from being accredited by the same agency 20 or association for consecutive accreditation cycles; 21 requiring public postsecondary education institutions 22 to collaborate to identify additional accrediting 23 agencies or associations that are recognized by the 24 database created and maintained by the United States 25 Department of Education, other than their current 26 accrediting agencies or associations, from which they 27 may seek and obtain accreditation; creating a cause of 28 action for postsecondary education institutions; 29 authorizing the award of specified damages, court 30 costs, and attorney fees; providing for the future 31 expiration of specified provisions; amending ss. 32 1009.23 and 1009.24, F.S.; requiring Florida College 33 System institutions and state universities, 34 respectively, to post specified information relating 35 to tuition and fee rates and proposed changes to such 36 rates on their websites; revising the information that 37 must be included in a required notice to students; 38 requiring a specific press release to be e-mailed to 39 enrolled students; providing requirements for a 40 Florida College System institution or a state 41 university, respectively, to raise, impose, or 42 authorize certain fees; providing a directive to the 43 Division of Law Revision; providing an effective date. 44 45 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 46 47 Section 1.Section 1004.085, Florida Statutes, is amended 48 to read: 49 1004.085Textbook and instructional materials affordability 50 and transparency. 51 (1)As used in this section, the term instructional 52 materials means educational materials for use within a course 53 which may be available in printed or digital format. 54 (2)An employee of a Florida College System institution or 55 state university may not demand or receive any payment, loan, 56 subscription, advance, deposit of money, service, or anything of 57 value, present or promised, in exchange for requiring students 58 to purchase a specific textbook or instructional material for 59 coursework or instruction. 60 (3)An employee may receive: 61 (a)Sample copies, instructor copies, or instructional 62 materials. These materials may not be sold for any type of 63 compensation if they are specifically marked as free samples not 64 for resale. 65 (b)Royalties or other compensation from sales of textbooks 66 or instructional materials that include the instructors own 67 writing or work. 68 (c)Honoraria for academic peer review of course materials. 69 (d)Fees associated with activities such as reviewing, 70 critiquing, or preparing support materials for textbooks or 71 instructional materials pursuant to guidelines adopted by the 72 State Board of Education or the Board of Governors. 73 (e)Training in the use of course materials and learning 74 technologies. 75 (4)Each Florida College System institution and state 76 university board of trustees is authorized to adopt policies in 77 consultation with providers, including bookstores, which allow 78 for the use of innovative pricing techniques and payment options 79 for textbooks and instructional materials. Such policies may 80 include bulk pricing arrangements that enable students to 81 purchase course materials or texts that are delivered digitally; 82 delivered through other technologies that are, or the licenses 83 of which are, required for use within a course; or delivered in 84 a print format. Innovative pricing techniques and payment 85 options must include an opt-in or opt-out provision for students 86 and may be approved only if there is documented evidence that 87 the options reduce the cost of textbooks and instructional 88 materials for students taking a course. 89 (5)(a)Each Florida College System institution and state 90 university shall post prominently in the course registration 91 system and on its website, as early as is feasible, but at least 92 45 days before the first day of class for each term, a hyperlink 93 to lists of required and recommended textbooks and instructional 94 materials for at least 95 percent of all courses and course 95 sections offered at the institution during the upcoming term. 96 The lists must include the International Standard Book Number 97 (ISBN) for each required and recommended textbook and 98 instructional material or other identifying information, which 99 must include, at a minimum, all of the following: the title, all 100 authors listed, publishers, edition number, copyright date, 101 published date, and other relevant information necessary to 102 identify the specific textbooks or instructional materials 103 required and recommended for each course. The State Board of 104 Education and the Board of Governors shall include in the 105 policies, procedures, and guidelines adopted under subsection 106 (6) certain limited exceptions to this notification requirement 107 for classes added after the notification deadline. 108 (b)The lists of required and recommended textbooks and 109 instructional materials required in paragraph (a) must: 110 1.Be posted as early as is feasible but at least 45 days 111 before the first day of class for each term. 112 2.Remain posted for at least 5 academic years. 113 3.Be searchable by the course subject, the course number, 114 the course title, the name of the instructor of the course, the 115 title of each assigned textbook or instructional material, and 116 each author of an assigned textbook or instructional material. 117 4.Be easily downloadable by current and prospective 118 students. 119 (c)If a course subject to paragraphs (a) and (b) is a 120 general education core course option identified pursuant to s. 121 1007.25, course syllabi information containing sufficient detail 122 to inform students of all of the following must be included: 123 1.The course curriculum. 124 2.The goals, objectives, and student expectations of the 125 course. 126 3.How student performance will be measured. 127 (6)After receiving input from students, faculty, 128 bookstores, and publishers, the State Board of Education and the 129 Board of Governors each shall adopt textbook and instructional 130 materials affordability policies, procedures, and guidelines for 131 implementation by Florida College System institutions and state 132 universities, respectively, that further efforts to minimize the 133 cost of textbooks and instructional materials for students 134 attending such institutions while maintaining the quality of 135 education and academic freedom. The policies, procedures, and 136 guidelines shall address: 137 (a)The establishment of deadlines for an instructor or 138 department to notify the bookstore of required and recommended 139 textbooks and instructional materials so that the bookstore may 140 verify availability, source lower cost options when practicable, 141 explore alternatives with faculty when academically appropriate, 142 and maximize the availability of used textbooks and 143 instructional materials. 144 (b)Confirmation by the course instructor or academic 145 department offering the course, before the textbook or 146 instructional materials adoption is finalized, of the intent to 147 use all items ordered, particularly each individual item sold as 148 part of a bundled package. 149 (c)Determination by a course instructor or the academic 150 department offering the course, before a textbook or 151 instructional material is adopted, of the extent to which a new 152 edition differs significantly and substantively from earlier 153 versions and the value to the student of changing to a new 154 edition or the extent to which an open-access textbook or 155 instructional material is available. 156 (d)The availability of required and recommended textbooks 157 and instructional materials to students otherwise unable to 158 afford the cost, including consideration of the extent to which 159 an open-access textbook or instructional material may be used. 160 (e)Participation by course instructors and academic 161 departments in the development, adaptation, and review of open 162 access textbooks and instructional materials and, in particular, 163 open-access textbooks and instructional materials for high 164 demand general education courses. 165 (f)Consultation with school districts to identify 166 practices that impact the cost of dual enrollment textbooks and 167 instructional materials to school districts, including, but not 168 limited to, the length of time that textbooks and instructional 169 materials remain in use. 170 (g)Selection of textbooks and instructional materials 171 through cost-benefit analyses that enable students to obtain the 172 highest-quality product at the lowest available price, by 173 considering: 174 1.Purchasing digital textbooks in bulk. 175 2.Expanding the use of open-access textbooks and 176 instructional materials. 177 3.Providing rental options for textbooks and instructional 178 materials. 179 4.Increasing the availability and use of affordable 180 digital textbooks and learning objects. 181 5.Developing mechanisms to assist in buying, renting, 182 selling, and sharing textbooks and instructional materials. 183 6.The length of time that textbooks and instructional 184 materials remain in use. 185 7.An evaluation of cost savings for textbooks and 186 instructional materials which a student may realize if 187 individual students are able to exercise opt-in provisions for 188 the purchase of the materials. 189 (7)The board of trustees of each Florida College System 190 institution and state university shall report, by September 30 191 of each year, to the Chancellor of the Florida College System or 192 the Chancellor of the State University System, as applicable, 193 the textbook and instructional materials selection process for 194 high-enrollment courses; specific initiatives of the institution 195 designed to reduce the costs of textbooks and instructional 196 materials; policies implemented in accordance with subsection 197 (5); the number of courses and course sections that were not 198 able to meet the textbook and instructional materials posting 199 deadline for the previous academic year; and any additional 200 information determined by the chancellors. By November 1 of each 201 year, each chancellor shall provide a summary of the information 202 provided by institutions to the State Board of Education and the 203 Board of Governors, as applicable. 204 Section 2.Present subsection (8) of section 1007.24, 205 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (9) and amended, 206 a new subsection (8) is added to that section, and subsections 207 (4) and (5) of that section are amended, to read: 208 1007.24Statewide course numbering system. 209 (4)The statewide course numbering system must be shall 210 maintained electronically and regularly updated by the 211 department and include the courses at the recommended levels, 212 course numbers, course titles, credits awarded, and other 213 identifiable information by institution and academic year, as 214 required by state board rule. 215 (5)The registration process at each state university and 216 Florida College System institution must shall include the 217 courses at their designated levels, and statewide course 218 numbers, course titles, credits awarded, and other identifiable 219 information, as required by state board rule. 220 (8)Participating postsecondary institutions receiving 221 transfer course credit must accept and apply general education 222 courses and credit in accordance with this section, s. 1007.25, 223 and other provisions of law, including credit earned through 224 dual enrollment, course equivalencies, and other acceleration 225 mechanisms, as first satisfying general education core course 226 credit requirements and other general education subject area 227 course credit requirements before applying the course credit as 228 elective credit. 229 (9)(8)