MA H1427

Establishes the Open Educational Resource (OER) Trust Fund to support development and distribution of free textbooks and course materials for Massachusetts public universities and early college programs

Defines OER as teaching, learning, and research materials in the public domain or released under open licenses permitting no-cost access, use, adaptation, and redistribution

Creates a competitive grant program for public higher education institutions and early college programs to develop OER, with the Commissioner of Higher Education making final award decisions

Requires the Commissioner to file an annual report by November 1 detailing fund sources, expenditures, recipient institutions, number of students benefited, and estimated cost savings

Establishes a Statewide OER Advisory Council with representatives from public higher education institutions to advise on OER implementation and grant prioritization