School Districts Nationwide Implement Controversial 'Pay To Play' Fees

An Ohio school district is the latest to implement a controversial "pay to play" policy, reports The Wall Street Journal. Medina Senior High, faced with budget cuts and repeated rejection of proposals to increase taxes, has started charging students for, well, just about everything. After-school sports, clubs, electives and even required courses such as Spanish all carry a price tag.

The Dombi family is feeling the strain; education and activities for their four children racked up a bill of $4,446.50 this year. And even then, they had to make some tough choices -- their oldest daughter had to forgo choir as it would cost an additional $200.

"It's high school," Ms. Dombi told The Wall Street Journal. "You're supposed to be able to try different things and see what you like."

In a recent editorial, the Los Angeles Times questions the constitutionality of similar fees in California.

Charging fees to students to offset budget cuts is not legal, just as it would not be legal to announce that in an effort to make ends meet, schools will no longer accept students of Filipino descent, or girls. Student fees deny opportunities to low-income students and put them at an academic disadvantage. Nearly 30 years ago, the California Supreme Court reached exactly that conclusion.

They Supreme Court case they refer to is Hartzell v. Connell (1984), in which taxpayers filed suit against the Santa Barbara High School district when it began requiring students to pay for extracurriculars including band and drama. The court ruled that "Educational opportunities must be provided to all students without regard to their families' ability or willingness to pay fees...This fundamental feature of public education is not contingent upon the inevitably fluctuating financial health of local school districts."

But school fees continue to pop up in districts across the country. The Kansas City Star reports that 28 percent of districts in Kansas have instituted some variation of the pay to play fee. The Shawnee Mission School District is one of these, although its fee takes a different approach: all high school students must pay a $90 participation fee, regardless of whether or not they participate in activities like sports or band.

As is the case across many states and districts, low-income families in the Shawnee district may apply for a waiver or arrange a payment plan for the fee. But advocates for these families say that school fees still put them at a disadvantage, by forcing them to accept charity for what is supposed to be a free education. And, while many states waive academic fees for low-income families, the same is not always true for extracurricular activities.

Those who can't afford to or don't want to pay for extra activities may also be at a disadvantage when it comes to applying for higher education. Not only do advanced academic courses often cost substantially more than their counterparts, but application-enhancing extracurriculars also cost extra money. Reports the Wall Street Journal:

Administrators and parents also worry that fees might affect some students' chances of getting into good colleges. Schools across the country now charge substantial "pay to play" fees not only for sports and arts programs, but also for more modest activities, including community service. Among the charges: $350 to join chess club, $200 to participate in Students Against Drunk Driving, $85 to write for the literary magazine -- and $50 to clean up beaches with the Environmental Club.

To combat these school fees in California, Assemblyman Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) has proposed a bill, AB 165, to reaffirm that student fees are illegal; it will be considered by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 27. If the bill passes, districts that continue to impose fees would be penalized.