The White House and Michelle Obama Release $250M ‘Open eBooks’ App for Title I and Special Education Teachers

Do you remember how it felt when you first read what would eventually become your favorite book? For many students, that’s a feeling that’s hard to come by—books aren’t always cheap or easily accessible, especially when school budgets are stretched thin. However, the government is hoping to help schools save money and time by offering thousands of popular and award-winning titles—$250 million worth of books, in fact—to Title I, military base and special education teachers and librarians, and by extension, students. How, exactly? First Lady Michelle Obama and the White House are officially launching the Open eBooks app. As part of the Open eBooks initiative—an initiative highlighted by President Barack Obama last July—the app allows users to access thousands of free books on smartphones or tablets. The app is open to any educator, student or administrator at one of the 66,000+ Title I schools or any of the 194 Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools in the United States. Additionally, White House reps report that any of the hundreds of thousands of special education teachers in the country—no matter what type of school they work for—also have access.