August Newsletter: Developing National Priorities for Open Education
Developing National Priorities for Open Education
This fall, the Open Education Association is inviting the open education field to collaboratively develop national priorities for open education advocacy. Even as open educational resources and practices continue to grow within institutions and states, open education is not leveraged as a solution by leaders and policymakers at the national level as much as it should be. The goal of this process is to collectively identify problems facing education across the United States where open education is part of the solution but not yet a large enough part of the conversation, then choose a set of these areas to prioritize building efforts around.
This process kicked off officially on August 12 at our webinar and will continue throughout the fall with listening sessions and other opportunities to give input. It culminates at a national summit on November 10-12 in Chicago, where representatives from across the field will finalize a list of priorities and start building plans. How to get involved:
Contribute to the Idea Board: Comment, upvote, or downvote potential ideas for national priorities, or submit your own.
Join or Host a Listening Session: The first public session will be held on August 19, and be on the lookout for others organized by collaborating organizations throughout the fall. Interested in hosting one? Check out our guide.
Apply for the National Summit: If you're interested in representing perspectives from your community or state on November 10-12, apply for an invitation. A limited number of travel scholarships are available.
UPCOMING WEBINAR
Student Rights in the Era of AI: What It Means for Open Education
Policy Spotlight: Idaho
The Idaho State Board of Education adopted a revised version of its policy on Instructional Material Access and Affordability, strengthening protections around automatic textbook charges and student data while reinforcing the state's support for open educational resources. The Open Education Association submitted a letter supporting the policy ahead of its adoption and recommend’s Idaho’s approach as a national model.
Deputy Chief Academic Officer Jonathan Lashley also presented to the Board on how open educational resources and practices support student success across Idaho. Student quotes described how OER made materials not only more affordable, but also more engaging. In the words of one student: “I thought professors were going to have me buy books that are like $100 and then we're not going to use them. But with this OER stuff, it's really useful. Basically, here's a free textbook that we're going to be drawing pretty much everything from. So, it's really helpful. Saves me money, too.”
Latest Resource
We offer a range of popular, field-wide resources. Check out our latest addition.
Getting the Most Out of Our Resource Boards: A Guide to Airtable
Our most popular resource boards are built using Airtable. This guide covers how to search, filter, sort, and more to help you find exactly what you need.
What We’re Reading
Joel Gladd's recent keynote at the CalOER conference offers an examination of how AI agents are changing the work of creating and maintaining OER. It highlights six ways practitioners are using these tools, discusses risks to the commons, and proposes how the principles in the CARE Framework can apply in the agentic AI era.
Member Profiles
Each month we’ll highlight Open Education Association members and what drives their work. Want to be featured? Share your story.
Lainie Allen
This chemistry professor was "tricked" into trying OER by a practical pitch, then found something bigger: a paradigm shift toward putting learning objectives before resources, and a community built on the simple, human act of sharing what you know. Read More
Amanda Miller
This educator-turned-doctoral-student sees textbook costs from both sides of the classroom, and it's sharpened her vision of what OER can be: a bridge across borders, a lever for cross-department collaboration, and proof that access shouldn't depend on which side of the room you're sitting on. Read More
Upcoming Events
In addition to our list of upcoming events, check our conference list and webinar calendar for more offered by the community.
National Priorities Listening Session | August
💬 Wed, August 19, 2026 • 1:00 PM ET • Public
Student Rights in the Era of AI: What It Means for Open Education
🎥 Wed, September 9, 2026 • 12:00 PM ET • Public
National Priorities Listening Session | September
💬 Thu, September 17, 2026 • 2:00 PM ET • Public
National Priorities Listening Session | October
💬 Wed, October 14, 2026 • 3:00 PM ET • Public
2026 Open Education Conference
👥 October 27-29, 2026 • Virtual • Registration Required
Open Education National Summit
👥 November 10-12, 2026 • Chicago • Application Only
OE Global Virtual Registration Giveaway! We are giving away two free virtual registrations for the Open Education Global Conference on October 7-9, a $195 value. The tickets will go to the first two association members to email contact@opened.org with the subject "OEGlobal26 Tickets."
Thanks for reading. We’ll be back next month with more updates and opportunities.
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