Biden Admin Delays Rule to Tackle College Textbook Prices to 2025

U.S. Department of Education building in Washington on July 6, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

The Biden administration is delaying a rule that would prohibit colleges from automatically charging students for textbooks and supplies as part of tuition.

The proposed change was expected this fall, but the U.S. Department of Education said on July 17 that it won’t be published until next year, leaving its fate hanging on the election result.

Under the current policy, set during the Obama administration and dubbed “inclusive access,” colleges and universities have the authority to automatically deduct the cost of textbooks and course materials from a student’s tuition. Until they opt out, students receive all required course materials, which are offered for sale at below-market rates negotiated between schools, publishers, and campus bookstores.

In the latest round of rule making, which began in January, the Education Department sought to replace the opt-out model with an opt-in one, meaning that students would need to authorize a charge on their tuition bill for course materials.

The proposal is part of President Joe Biden’s broader promise to lower higher education costs by eliminating what he has called “junk fees,” or hidden fees that colleges tack onto students’ bills.

“Automatic charges for textbooks and course materials leave students with little ability to meaningfully shop around for better prices or to utilize free and open-source textbooks,” the White House said in March.

A group of Democrat and independent senators endorsed the proposal. “Students need more choices—not fewer—in the textbook marketplace so they can make the best decision for their own needs,” they wrote in April in a letter to the Education Department in support of the change.

Publishers and colleges advocated against the shift, which they warned would upend the inclusive access program and make textbooks less affordable.

According to the Association of American Publishers, booksellers and publishers would lose the incentive to participate in the program, because sellers would be much more uncertain about the amount of sales they would be able to make.

Without the assurance that a large bulk of students would buy their books, the association argued, it would be difficult for publishers to strike deals with schools to sell books at discounted prices.

Other Delayed Rules

During rule-making sessions this spring, the Education Department also proposed giving individual states more authority to enforce their own laws on out-of-state colleges that enroll their residents. Current rules allow colleges to enroll out-of-state students online without having to get approval from the states where the students live or adhere to those states’ laws.

In addition, the department sought to require the nation’s accrediting agencies to set benchmarks for student achievement. It comes as a response to many years of complaints by lawmakers that accreditors are failing in their job to hold colleges accountable for poor student outcomes.

Both proposed rule changes will also be delayed to 2025, according to the department.

“Getting accountability right requires careful thought and consideration of its possible impacts on students and schools,” said Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal.

“This schedule allows us to take additional time to carefully consider these important, complicated issues and refine solutions that address important challenges for students,” he said.