On December 20, the state of São Paulo approved PL 989/2011, which establishes a policy of Open Educational Resources.  Article one holds that educational resources developed by the government “should be made available in these institutions or [on the government’s] electronic sites… and licensed for free use, comprising copying, distribution, downloading and redistribution,” on the conditions attriution and noncommercial use.  Resources covered by the law include “textbooks, instructional materials, multimedia content, educational games, scientific articles, research, theses, dissertations and other academic pieces.”

A blog by Débora Sebriam from Recursos Educacionais Abertos describes civil society’s work with the bill’s sponsor over the past two years to win this bill’s passage. She also notes that the bill must now be signed by the executive, and asks people to spread the word on social networks.

For more on PL 989/2011:

 

Here is the PDF of the law itself http://rea.web655.uni5.net/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2-ProjetoLeiEstadual.pdf

Carolina Rossini says that the Governor must still sign the law.