Summary of HR 6686 — No Cost Educational Resources Act of 2025

Purpose and intent

• To amend the Museum and Library Services Act to empower the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to award grants to institutions of higher education for courses that use only open, freely available digital resources for required reading assignments.
• The bill aims to reduce or eliminate out-of-pocket costs for students by expanding the use of open educational resources (OER) in higher education.

Key provisions

Open Educational Resources focus (new grant program)

• Adds a new grant pathway under Section 262(a)(6) of the Museum and Library Services Act.
• Eligible recipients: Institutions of higher education.
• Purpose of grants: To facilitate the adoption, adaptation, and creation of open educational reading materials and to establish more open educational reading material courses.

Definitions

• Open Educational Reading Material: Free digital texts that are publicly available to download and redistribute.
• Open Educational Reading Material Course: An undergraduate STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) course that uses only open educational reading materials as required readings.

Application requirements (for grant eligibility)

• Institutions must describe:
  • Leadership for implementing the grant (library administrators and librarians to oversee adoption/adaptation/creation).
  • Collaboration with STEM faculty in developing and implementing the plan, and ongoing collaboration with other higher education institutions to broaden adoption.
  • A plan to review the quality of the open educational reading materials used.

Priority criteria for grant awards

• Preference given to institutions with high enrollment of low-income or minority students, or both.
• Additional priorities include:
  • Assigning a faculty member and a librarian to coordinate the OER implementation.
  • Utilizing library resources to facilitate use of OER.
  • Replacing traditional required readings in high-enrollment STEM courses with open materials.
  • Providing incentives for faculty to use only open materials (e.g., monetary awards or dedicated time for adoption/adaptation/creation).

Reporting requirement

• Not later than 2 years after the first grant is awarded under subsection (a)(6), the Director must submit to Congress:
  • The number of grants awarded under the new subsection.
  • An evaluation of the impact on increasing the use of open educational materials in STEM courses.
  • An evaluation of cost savings for students (comparing open-material courses to similar courses with required readings that must be purchased).

Who is affected

• Primary recipients: Institutions of higher education.
• Beneficiaries: Students, particularly low-income and minority students, who would incur lower or no-cost access to required readings.
• Institutional stakeholders: Librarians, library administrators, STEM faculty, and cross-institutional collaborators involved in adoption/adaptation/creation of OER.

Procedural and timeline aspects

• Status: Introduced in the House on December 12, 2025; referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce.
• Next steps: Committee consideration, potential floor action, and passage in the House and Senate would be required for enactment.
• Effective date: Not specified in the text; would follow enactment and subsequent rulemaking or grant-making timelines once the bill becomes law.

Overall impact

• The bill would create and fund a grant program to promote open, freely accessible reading materials in higher education, with a focus on STEM courses and institutions serving large numbers of low-income or minority students.
• Expected outcomes include reduced student costs, expanded use and creation of OER, and improved access to course materials. A congressional report would provide accountability and measurement of program effectiveness and savings.