The nation is in the midst of a revolution in education. For the first time in human history, tools to enable everyone to attain all the education they desire are available. And best of all this education is available at almost no cost. The key to this sea of change in learning is open education resources, or OER. OER are educational materials produced by one party that are licensed to be used free of charge by others. OER come in many forms--from curriculum to homework assignment to textbooks. And OER exist for all levels of education, from kindergarten through college. OER are already being used by learners for self study, by teachers to enhance classroom learning, and by education providers to bring down the cost of instruction. Clearly, open education resources hold some of the answers to maintaining the quality of learning material while significantly reducing the cost of education. With this brief the authors seek to provide a substantive understanding of OER and at the same time inform the emerging public debate over their use in public education. Finally the authors provide key suggestions for how policymakers can best structure the use of OER.