Open Scholarship Librarian
Director of Open Scholarship & Affordable Learning
What is Act 125?
Act 125/SB117 http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1143722 is a bipartisan bill signed into law in June 2019, requiring transparency in textbook pricing for students and creating an incentive model for the wide scale adoption of low and no-cost course materials. The bill is linked in the box below.
As a result of Act 125/SB117, Louisiana’s postsecondary public colleges and universities are required to “use a conspicuous symbol, logo, or other distinguishing feature to highlight each course included in its course schedule that exclusively utilizes AER or OER course materials.”
By when must this requirement be implemented?
Beginning in Fall of 2020, each public postsecondary education institution shall implement the course schedule marking.
How must this be reported?
The Board of Regents has implemented a course marker field on each course within the SSPS Submissions. This is used to identify if the course is OER or AER..
The valid options will be:
O (OER)
A (AER)
N (Neither)
For Summer 2020 through Summer 2021: Institutions will need to submit O, A, N or leave it blank.
For Fall 2021 on: This will become a hard error and institutions will need to submit O, A, N. Blank will not be allowed.