Education Matters

ACLU weighs in on illegal fees in public education

By Marsha Sutton

The issue of illegal fees for public education is not a new one. Local media, including this publication, have reported on the problem extensively after San Diego Unified School District parent Sally Smith began her crusade in earnest last year to stop the wrongful practice of charging parents and students for materials, supplies, services, athletics and other extra-curricular activities. Heightened awareness has since spread to other school districts throughout the state.
A hero to some and a villain to others, Smith pursued the issue relentlessly, knowing she had the law on her side. Yet school districts continued to ignore the rights of all students regardless of income levels, charging for everything from cheerleading and football to digital cameras and band.
Throw in fees for required physical education clothing, calculators for math classes and poster boards for science projects, and you’ve got serious violations of the law.
It’s not hard to understand how Smith tapped into deep resentment. Sports and other extra-curriculars are a critical part of school for many students, and school districts can ill afford to cover the high costs of providing these extras on their own, given slashed budgets of recent years.
Affluent families are willing to pay to have their children participate in classes and activities that expand their resumes and enhance the high school experience – sometimes forking over thousands of dollars. The idea that the lacrosse team can no longer charge for uniforms and coaches’ salaries, or that girls basketball can only subsist on voluntary donations, may mean an end to the programs altogether unless creative ways can be found to salvage the programs. And that possibility causes many students and their parents to lash out at the messenger.
But ensuring equity is paramount. Should talented soccer players or gifted artists who, because of an inability to pay, be prohibited from developing their skills and reaching their full potential in the one institution in our society – public education – that purports to provide every child equal opportunity?
Public education cannot solve the chronic problems of poverty and discrimination in society. But it is the one hope, perhaps our last hope, to level the playing field for those kids who have never received the kinds of advantages the middle and upper classes in our country often take for granted.
The 1984 Hartzell vs. Connell court case concluded that “charging participation fees to students was an unconstitutional solution to school funding woes.”
The California Constitution weighs in on the issue, stating that the “constitutional right of free access encompasses all educational activities, whether curricular or extra-curricular, and regardless of whether credit is awarded for the educational activity. The right of free access also prohibits mandated purchases of materials, supplies, equipment or uniforms associated with the activity…”
Foundations have become the legal fundraising arm of public schools, as cash-strapped school sites have found it impossible to offer the same level of services and activities for students they once did.
Dan McAllister, San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector, said in an interview last December that there’s a proper place for foundations in public education as districts cope with unprecedented budget challenges.
But he noted that some tactics “are pretty aggressive and assertive” and advised that solicitations be worded very carefully.
“It really places an unfair burden on those less fortunate and those who don’t have as much as others,” he said. “They feel the pressure, they feel the stress.”
“It’s almost a fear of, if you don’t pay you don’t play,” McAllister said. “That pay-to-play is really abhorrent to a lot of people.”
In addition, requiring students or parents to self-identify as poor or to force families to expose financial hardship is also illegal.
Even though the issue of illegal fees has received intense media attention this past year, the practice continues in many school districts in the county. And now, as a result of ignoring the law, school districts find themselves scrutinized by the American Civil Liberties Union which has been subjected to hateful criticism, just as Sally Smith has, for defending the constitutional rights of those who can’t afford to pay up.
A free public education must allow every student – rich or poor, no matter their color or background – equal access to opportunity and a fair chance at success through hard work and determination. It’s a fundamental principle of our democracy, and the scurrilous attacks against those individuals and organizations that attempt to protect that right are shameful.
Marsha Sutton can be reached at: SuttComm@san.rr.com.