June was a big month for OER in the United States, so here’s a quick roundup of some highlights, including a new open copyright policy from Hillary Clinton’s campaign, the launch packet for districts incorporating open educational resources into their curriculum, and new funding for OER degrees in California!

• US Department of Education: #GoOpen Launch Packet released
  The #GoOpen launch packet supports “districts that have decided to implement a systematic approach to incorporating openly licensed educational resources into their curriculum.”

• Allocations for OER degrees in California

  California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the state’s budget for 2016-2017, including a$5M allocation (see p. 18) for the creation of OER-based degrees (see SEC. 16. Article 4) at California Community Colleges. This funding will facilitate the creation of approximately 25 OER-based Z-degrees at CA community colleges.
  

• Hillary Clinton announces open technology and innovation initiative

  Hillary Clinton calls for: effective copyright policy and open licenses on publicly funded education & science. 

• Bringing down the high cost of textbooks

  The Washington Post published a concise article about the cost of textbooks and its effect on students. As textbook costs soar, Achieving the Dream announced $9.8 million dollars in grants for developing OER degree programs.