The local and national fight for affordable textbooks

In the midst of the long battle to mitigate the often outrageous textbook costs that college students are forced to pay every year, both the state and federal legislature introduced bills aimed at making college textbooks more affordable.

In 2016, the Student Public Interest Research Groups (Student PIRGs) released a report detailing the increasing costs of college textbooks. According to the report, textbook prices have increased by 88% from 2006-2016.

The price of textbooks, which can reach hundreds of dollars, often deter students from obtaining the course materials altogether. In previous Student PIRGs’ studies, two-thirds of students reported not buying a required textbook because of its price, illustrating how textbook costs directly impact access to education.

In the state legislature, HB 1470 attempted to address this issue directly, noting how “the cost of textbooks and course materials often acts as a barrier for students and becomes a substantial part of student debt.” The bill, which died in committee this legislative session, would have created a tax credit for professors who use free, open source materials as the main required text for their course.

On the national stage, HR 2107, known as the “Affordable College Textbook Act” and sponsored by Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, references the $1,240 that the average U.S. student spends on course materials at a 4-year public college. If passed, HR 2107 would create a grant program to encourage the use of “open education resources.”

Surging costs of textbooks have impacted UW students, not only creating a barrier to education but also putting students at risk of legal consequences.

“We have a lot of kids who come from the University of Washington who get caught stealing from the bookstore because tuition is ridiculous,” Sean Goode, executive director of Choose 180, said in an interview with The Daily last April. “They’re like, ‘Well, I need this $800 textbook and what am I going to do?’”

Through his work with Choose 180, a program which aims to divert individuals from the criminal justice system, Goode works with young adults in King County who have been convicted of a crime. Goode says they work with plenty of college kids who commit “crimes of poverty.

Allison Kirste, the external chair of the UW’s WashPIRG chapter, explained that the biggest hurdle in pushing affordable textbook initiatives has been dealing with big publishing companies. Kirste explained that the UW and other universities have strong relationships with publishing companies like Pearson. These large companies often bundle costs together, forcing students to not just pay for textbooks, but also access codes and other supplemental materials.

“Students are here deciding whether to pay rent for the month of whether to buy an access code to do their homework,” Kirste said. “At some point, the college has to stop asking us to spend money on all these extra things — it’s costly enough to be in college.”

Although the state-level bill for affordable textbooks died in committee, Kirste says she’s optimistic that similar initiatives could get through the legislature in the future.

“Seeing how many new, young, progressive congresspeople are entering office gives me a lot of hope in seeing some actual national work being done on this,” Kirste said.

http://www.dailyuw.com/news/article_330ff540-777f-11e9-aa0a-fb1280b9bf77.html

Submitted May 20, 2019 at 10:45PM by thinkB4WeSpeak http://bit.ly/2EnuvLv