MN HF789

Establishes an Open Educational Resource Council consisting of 11 faculty members appointed by October 1, 2013, representing the University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, community colleges, technical colleges, and not-for-profit colleges.

Defines "digital open source resources" as educational materials that are digital, modular, XML-encoded, cross-platform compatible, licensed under Creative Commons attribution, and compliant with Section 508 accessibility standards and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Council duties include developing strategies to increase use of open source resources, training faculty to implement them, creating partnerships with the University of Minnesota open textbook catalog, conducting rigorous accessibility reviews, and maintaining a searchable website for accessing resources.

Requires the council to report progress to legislative committees with higher education jurisdiction on January 15, 2014, and January 15, 2015, with the 2015 report outlining plans for continued work after July 1, 2015.

Appropriates $500,000 from the general fund to the Office of Higher Education director to carry out the council's duties.