California Open Source Textbook Project
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The California Open Source Textbook Project (COSTP) is a collaborative, public/private undertaking. It has been created to address the high cost, content range, and consistent shortages of K-12 textbooks in California.
California currently spends more than $400M annually — and rising — for K-12 textbooks. With K-12 enrollment projected to rise in the coming years, revenue demands for textbooks and other curriculum materials in California will increase proportionately.
COSTP will employ the advantages of open-sourced content and innovative licensing tools to significantly reduce California's K-12 textbook costs — eventually turning K-12 curriculum and textbook construction from a cost into a revenue generator for the State of California.
Three - amongst many — COSTP benefits will be 1) the complete elimination of the current $400M+ line item for California's K-12 textbooks; 2) a significant increase in the range of content afforded to California's K-12 textbooks; 3) a permanent end to California's textbook shortages; and 4) creation of fully portable content holdings database that scales with classroom technologies as they are introduced.
It is important to note that COSTP's mandate does not replace printed textbooks; it simply makes them less expensive to produce; and, in doing so creates many additional benefits, economies, and efficiencies that will fully leverage California's activities in the K-12 textbook publishing domain.
The cost of K-12 textbooks has risen steadily over the years. Whatever the reasons for increasing costs, it seems likely that today's high K-12 textbook prices are not inevitable. The past history of textbook prices, and the existence, even today, of textbooks that occasionally cost significantly less than average, indicates that textbooks could be produced and sold for 33-50+% less than currently charged by textbook publishing companies. COSTP's goal is to make the latter pricing scenario a reality, while providing multiple additional advantages for California's K-12 schools, teachers, students, and taxpayers.
Open sourced, distributed content can be made available gratis, and/or through the use of innovative copyright tools provided by organizations like Creative Commons, its partners, and other organizations.
Thus, COSTP will provide a new model for textbook creation in the State of California by 1) leveraging free, already-existing, and widely available K-12 educational content in the public domain; 2) better leveraging the substantial curriculum-based intellectual capital of California's best K-12 teachers; and 3) using innovative copyright tools to secure new and dormant K-12 textbook content that would not otherwise be made available.
COSTP is projected to augment current K-12 textbook supply chain, be self-supporting with 18 months of starting up, and save the State of California upwards of $200M+ per year for K-12 textbook allocation within five years.
In phase two of the COSTP plan (following year five), California will be able to offer (by license, at nominal cost) K-12 textbook and curriculum materials to other educational organizations and international agencies. This will create substantial cost savings for those entities, and will result in the complete elimination of all funds heretofore budgeted for California's K-12 textbook purchases - currently $400M+ per year. Additionally, California will realize a surplus (profit) from its K-12 content licensing activities as this second stage of COSTP is deployed.