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Yup.You are exactly right. They also can't charge for things like feild trips also. So guess what, they are going away. When my now 2nd grader was in kintergarten his class took 4 field trips and charged like $10/per trip, mostly to cover the bussing. My youngest is starting K this year at the same school and they are having 1 field trip.
Thanks ACLU!
This is so maddening Pretty soon because of budget cuts and the ACLU sueing our kids wont have pencils, paper etc...all because the school can't ask parents to supply it? And we as Americans wonder why our education system is going down the toilet
The illegal fees that we discovered include numerous mandatory fees related to core academic courses that fulfill high school graduation requirements — requiring students to purchase required text and workbooks for academic courses, charging lab fees for science classes, charging material fees for fine arts classes, and requiring students to purchase school-issued P.E. uniforms.
Under the terms of the agreement, if auditors conclude that a school district has charged illegal fees, it would be required to reimburse parents or suffer a financial penalty.
Note the reference to "illegal fees".
Unless the OP has a source that gives different information, it doesn't look as though we're talking about field trips, cheerleader uniforms, pens & pencils, etc.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 09-01-2011 at 05:37 PM..
Not sure what your point is, that I should have googled it? It's up to the poster to support their posts. I suspected what Dark of the Moon posted.
Your link is about a uniform-buying scandal, which is a different matter.
Frankly, I got annoyed about all the lab fees, orchestra fees, "supplies" fees, etc I had to pay, especially when my kids were in high school. I did not care that I had to pay for them to do a sport, or even pay for part of the uniform, as long as they got to keep it.
Well what do you think is going to happen now? If the money that parents were paying is being taken out of the budget do you think that schools will just magically replace it? There is no appetite for tax increases anywhere in the country.
Athletic teams need funding beyond what school districts provide. IMO it is appropriate for parents and booster clubs to be the ones making up the difference. If the difference is not made up by someone the kids will suffer. I am glad that where I live parents and booster clubs are allowed to supplement the money received by school districts.
In my experience, no sports charged at all. The only one that did was cheerleading, but that's because it wasn't technically considered a sport. Plus, they kept their uniforms. The only fee I was ever charged in thirteen years of California schooling was a $5 request for our art class. However, if you honestly could not afford it, something could be worked out. Many students paid $10 or more in order for the poorer kids to be covered. It wasn't a big deal. My freshman year of high school I was on the softball team, and we got new uniforms. These uniforms had our last names, so we were going to keep them. The coach requested we cover the costs, but many families didn't. It wasn't a problem.
We had field trips end in elementary school. Well, we did have one in high school which cost $5. It was a trip to San Diego.
What a shame. I think it's a GREAT idea for parents to pay for their kids' extracurricular activities instead of the taxpayers. Kids are entitled to an excellent basic education; parents should provide the rest.
What a shame. I think it's a GREAT idea for parents to pay for their kids' extracurricular activities instead of the taxpayers. Kids are entitled to an excellent basic education; parents should provide the rest.
Again, the only fees the ACLU was contesting were illegal ones -- fees for texts, workbooks, lab supplies, etc. necessary to fully access the curriculum.
Unless the OP has a source that gives different information, it doesn't look as though we're talking about field trips, cheerleader uniforms, pens & pencils, etc.
The article did state: "Attorneys filed the case after collecting numerous anecdotal examples of school districts charging fees for books, art supplies and other basic educational materials as well as for students' involvement in extracurricular activities."
This article makes it clear that many extracurricular activities, and even some co curricular activities (the article mentions choir) are in danger in California.
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Pretty soon because of budget cuts and the ACLU sueing our kids wont have pencils, paper etc...all because the school can't ask parents to supply it? And we as Americans wonder why our education system is going down the toilet
