Rules would ease public school students' fees

Public schools could no longer charge their students for classes or required materials, nor could they force students to pay class dues, under proposed regulations being considered by the Virginia Board of Education.

School fees for parking, behind-the-wheel driver’s education and lockers would still be permitted, as well as charges for items such as workbooks that can’t be reused.

“I think the regulations will go a long way in curbing the worst abuses, increasing clarity and eliminating the worst inconsistencies between schools,” said Angela Ciolfi, a lawyer with JustChildren, a central Virginia legal aid firm that found schools charging for a variety of electives, supplies and field trips last year.

The state constitution requires public schools to be free. Schools are allowed to charge for optional or ancillary services and activities but not as a condition of enrollment, according to opinions over the years from the state attorney general’s office.

Last week, the state board approved a first draft of regulations that would replace less-specific rules from 1980, but members asked that it be revised to make clear to parents that they can apply for waivers for financial reasons.

In a survey last year, the state Department of Education found that few divisions gave parents notice about such a policy.

Freddie Alarcon, executive assistant to the superintendent of Virginia Beach public schools, said his division uses its discretion to waive fees for field trips and Advanced Placement tests but opposes being forced to offer across-the-board waivers.

“The bottom line is it’s an unfunded mandate,” Alarcon said. “Right now, divisions determine which fees might be waived.”

Under the proposed rules, each local school board would be required to approve a fee list that would be consistent across schools at each level. Each division would also need a provision for reducing or waiving fees for families that can’t afford them.

No student should be “prevented from engaging in an enriching activity because she can’t pay the fee,” Ciolfi said.

The regulations still need to be reviewed, posted for a period of public comment and approved again by the board.

With that timeline, they won’t affect school fees this fall.

Recognizing that, legal aid centers around the state, including JustChildren, are sending letters to school superintendents, asking them to keep school supply lists short, allow parents to purchase any brand of supplies and eliminate or reduce fees for gym uniforms, workbooks and school-day field trips.

“Our schools are cash-strapped, but so are our families,” Ciolfi said. “The regulations can’t come fast enough.”

Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com