OER are "…teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that allows for free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with others, including full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.” (Texas Senate Bill 810 2017 and TEC 51.542). OER textbooks, like those from OpenStax and Open Textbook Library, are free for students with no associated fees and have a Creative Commons or a Public Domain license."
In 2017, the Texas government codified SB 810 in TEC, 51.542 to require Texas institutions of higher education to track courses using open educational resources and for those institutions to make reasonable efforts to disseminate information to students regarding courses using OER. Examples of OER are: Open Textbook Library,
In 2021, the Texas government codified HB 1027, requiring transparency at Texas institutions using inclusive access programs, also known as automatic textbook billing programs. HB 1027 also provided more clarity around OER transparency requirements at Texas institutions of higher learning. Visit InclusiveAccess.org and Textbooks & Inclusive Access at UTSA to learn more about inclusive access and HB 1027.