Lawrence Public Schools Say Goodbye to Textbooks

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Next semester the Lawrence Public Schools will introduce a pilot course that relies on free, openly licensed educational resources rather than textbooks.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports the district’s plan is part of a new U.S. Department of Education campaign called #GoOpen, which encourages states, school districts and educators to use openly licensed educational materials.

Lawrence Public Schools is one of 10 districts nationwide that have taken up the challenge to replace at least one textbook with open resources within the next year.

Superintendent Rick Doll says the money saved by using open resources to diversify class content can be used to fund costs that have been cut in the past six years, such as hiring more teachers and providing more resources or programs for students.