Policy & Advocacy
SPARC advocates for policies at the local, national, and international level that promote openness in research and education. Listed below are SPARC's active policy priorities. Click here to see previous policies SPARC has advocated for.
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California’s Zero Textbook Cost Degree Program
Open EducationCalifornia invested $115 million to develop Zero Textbook Cost degrees at the state's community colleges.
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Stopping the Cengage/McGraw-Hill Merger
After intense opposition from stakeholder groups and a year of regulatory review, the Cengage/McGraw-Hill has been called off. The merger would have remade the textbook market as a duopoly, and its termination prevents significant harm to students.
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H.R. 150 / S. 1829, the Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency (GREAT) Act
Open Access · Open DataThis legislation aims to simplify and harmonize federal grant recipient reporting obligations around a standard taxonomy.
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Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Open Textbook Pilot Grant Program
Open EducationThe Open Textbook Pilot offers grants to U.S. Colleges and universities to expand the use of open textbooks. SPARC is working to renew and expand funding for this program.
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H.R.5049, the Well-Informed, Scientific, and Efficient (WISE) Government Act
Open AccessThis bill would prohibit non-disclosure clauses in federal agency contracts with journal publishers and provide a way for the government to collect information on how much each agency is paying for subscriptions to these materials.
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Environmental Protection Agency Rule on ‘Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science’
Open Access · Open DataEPA seeking public comments on a controversial new proposed rule on 'Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science'
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Higher Education Act (HEA) Reauthorization
Open EducationThe Higher Education Act is the federal law that governs higher education and could be amended through reauthorization to promote OER at institutions of higher education.
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Restoring Net Neutrality
Open Access · Open Data · Open EducationThe Congressional Review Act gives Congress the power to reinstate the Open Internet Order and ensure net neutrality essential for Open Access, Open Data, and Open Education.
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U.S. National Cancer Moonshot Initiative
Open Access · Open DataFormer Vice-President Joe Biden is leading a newly established National Cancer Moonshot Initiative to accelerate cancer research.
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Passed into Law: OPEN Government Data Act (S. 760 / H.R. 1770)
Open DataThe Open, Permanent, Electronic, and Necessary (OPEN) Government Data Act is a bipartisan bill to codify President Obama’s Executive Order making “open and machine readable” the default for all government data. It passed Congress on December 31, 2018 and was signed into law on January 14,...
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