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House committee considers
Armstrong's college book bill
Legislation would require advance disclosure of
classroom book requirements
The House Higher Education
Committee is considering a measure prime-sponsored by
Rep. Mike
Armstrong that would
require college- and university-affiliated bookstores in Washington to
provide a four-week advance notice of course material requirements
before classes get under way.
Armstrong introduced
House Bill 3047 at the request of Joel Voth, an East Wenatchee
resident whose son is a student at Washington State University.
During testimony before
the committee Wednesday, Armstrong said the measure would allow students
time to shop for books online where prices may be less expensive, giving
both parents and students a break.
"If you've got one, two or
three kids in college, you know that the price of books is very costly.
Anything we can do to alleviate that expense for parents and students is
what I think we have to do. By not getting this information out earlier
to people, we're hindering them from finding the best price possible for
books," said Armstrong.
A 2005 study by the U.S.
Government Accountability Office found that since 1986, textbook prices
have nearly tripled, increasing by 186 percent. Another study also found
that the average release time between textbook editions is 3.8 years. Of
those textbooks surveyed, new editions cost 58 percent more than the
older versions.
"I have two kids in
college and the average price for books is anywhere from three hundred
dollars to seven hundred dollars a quarter. If you are trying to get
kids through college and living on a single income, it can be very
difficult," added Armstrong. "Although there may be concerns from the
higher education community, this is one of those issues we should set as
a priority to make a college education as affordable as possible. This
is one way we can help people to keep more of their own money."
Armstrong said students
can get a price break by purchasing used books. However, he said
incoming students frequently have a much harder time obtaining
second-hand books.
"When you are a freshman
or a sophomore, you don't get to sign up for your classes until later.
The upper classmen get signed up first and go down to the bookstores,
buy used books and get the better deal. The freshmen and sophomore
students end up having to buy the new books at a significantly higher
price," noted Armstrong. "This legislation would simply require the
bookstores to list the requirements earlier and allow students to
purchase the materials earlier, hopefully at a reduced price."
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For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Public Information Officer: (360) 786-7257 |