# 119-s-740: Affordable College Textbook Act

119-s-740, Affordable College Textbook Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-740
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-740
- Congress: 119
- Title: Affordable College Textbook Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-26
- Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Creates a federal grant program to expand the use of open textbooks** at colleges and universities and would require clearer course-materials price and format disclosures to help students save money and improve access. - Students: Grants and disclosure rules aim to lower textbook costs and increase access by expanding free or low-cost open textbooks and making full digital content freely available online. - Colleges and faculty: Eligible institutions, consortia, or states could get funds to create or adapt open textbooks, provide faculty training, and must report on adoption, quality, and instructional impact. New or adapted works must be released under a royalty-free open license and posted in editable formats. - Transparency and markets: Institutions must disclose ISBNs, retail prices, OER status, and digital-material summaries, and the Government Accountability Office must report within three years on textbook costs and the effects of open textbooks.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2025-02-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-02-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-02-26T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Federal grants for open textbooks: benefit, medium. If enacted, this bill would create a competitive Open Textbook Grant Program at the Department of Education. The Secretary would make grants to colleges, consortia, or State consortia to create, adapt, or expand open textbooks and accessible supplemental materials. Grants could pay for faculty trai…
- Colleges must list textbook prices: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would require institutions that get federal aid to list ISBNs (or author/title/publisher/copyright date), retail prices, and any fees for required and recommended course materials on course listings. Schools would also have to say whether a material is an open educational resou…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act

## Sources
- [119-s-740 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/740)

## Related
- [119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2763)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2295)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-740 (as of 2026-04-21).