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135A.25 TEXTBOOK DISCLOSURE, PRICING, AND ACCESS.
    Subdivision 1. Short title. This section may be cited as the Textbook Disclosure, Pricing,
and Access Act.
    Subd. 2. Course material disclosures required. (a) Beginning January 1, 2009, any
publisher that sells or distributes course material for classroom use in a postsecondary institution
must make the following available in an easily accessible manner to faculty, bookstores, and
postsecondary institutions in Minnesota:
    (1) the title, edition, author, and International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or other easily
identifiable information for all course materials;
    (2) the undiscounted price at which the course materials are available to a bookstore;
    (3) the formats, including bundled and unbundled, in which those course materials are offered
and the undiscounted prices of the various components, both sold separately or packaged together;
    (4) a summary of revisions between current and previous editions of course materials; and
    (5) the return policy for course material, including any penalties or conditions for returns.
    (b) Any publisher that sells or distributes course material for classroom use in a postsecondary
institution must make all bundled course material available to bookstores and postsecondary
institutions in an unbundled form, or must provide notice if unbundled material is not available.
    (c) Disclosure under this section is not required for mass market and trade books that are not
published, marketed, or sold primarily for classroom use in or by postsecondary institutions.
    (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any existing academic freedom or rights
of faculty members to determine the most appropriate course material for the courses they teach.
    Subd. 3. Educational strategies. Public postsecondary institutions must develop educational
materials considering the recommendations in studies by the Minnesota Office of Higher
Education and others and at least annually convene and sponsor meetings and workshops, and
provide educational strategies for faculty, students, administrators, institutions, and bookstores to
inform all interested parties on strategies for reducing the costs of course materials for students
attending postsecondary institutions.
    Subd. 4. Minnesota Office of Higher Education responsibilities. (a) For private
postsecondary institutions, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education must develop educational
materials considering the recommendations by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education
and others and at least annually convene and sponsor meetings and workshops and provide
educational strategies for faculty, students, administrators, institutions, and bookstores to inform
all interested parties on strategies for reducing the costs of course materials for students attending
postsecondary institutions.
    (b) The Minnesota Office of Higher Education must identify methods to compile and
distribute information on publishers that sell or distribute course material for classroom use in
postsecondary institutions in a manner that meets the requirements and complies with subdivision
2. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education must also evaluate ways to make this information
available for use by students and faculty in postsecondary institutions.
    Subd. 5. Bookstores; course materials. The University of Minnesota and private colleges
are encouraged to comply with the requirements for instructors and bookstores under section
136F.58, subdivision 2.
History: 2007 c 144 art 2 s 10

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes