School districts across the state are scrambling in the wake of a settlement in the ACLU lawsuit that alleged illegal fees were being charged on campuses for what's supposed to be a free education.
Capistrano Unified School District was among six districts in Orange County singled out in the December lawsuit -- students at San Clemente High were forced to buy a book for a class, while those in advanced government courses at Dana Hills were forced to subscribe to a news magazine.
The lawsuit didn't even touch sports, but the settlement does. No fees for extracurricular activities or much of anything else outside of a well defined list.
Marcus Walton, CUSD's spokesman, said district officials hope the settlement won't hurt district programs, because the groups are allowed to fund raise and parents can make donations. Still, Superintendent Joe Farley is pulling together a task force of parents, educators, students and other stakeholders to figure out how to implement terms of the settlement.
Trustees mentioned the "ACLU Settlement" several times in cautionary tones during the last board meeting. And for good cause: Violating the terms of the settlement will spur the state controller to withhold money from the district until the issue is corrected -- and "corrected" means the district repays the money with interest.
We've talked about fees here before -- anyone have any fees stories to share?
In the meantime, here's Farley's letter and the district's Q&A on fees.
Only that I've always gladly paid them and participated in fundraisers for those who can't. I guess now there will be a "donation box" for people like me. But I can only hope. The thought of losing Music, Sports, Cheer, AP, IB, Art, Dance, Drama, Photography, etc. -- all those classes that are a luxury for a cash-strapped district to afford -- is heart-breaking when I live in a town with plenty of wealth and privilege. And I will always buy any "suggested" books, periodicals, tools, supplies, etc.
Posted by: CUSD Grad, Parent, Teacher, Donor, and Voter in Support of Public Education | January 19, 2011 at 07:16 PM