FILE: JS
Cf: JR
STUDENT FEES, FINES AND CHARGES
The Monroe City School Board may impose certain student fees or charges to help offset special costs incurred in the operation of specific classrooms or subjects. Generally, students should not be denied or delayed admission nor denied access to any instructional activity due to failure or inability of their parent or guardian to pay a fee. Report cards and other academic records cannot be withheld for failure to pay a fee, pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:112(C).
The Monroe City School Board provides curricular and co-curricular services and activities without collection of fees from parents and/or students. Fees may be assessed for extracurricular activities and field trips.
NOTIFICATION
The School Board shall publish the Student Fees, Fines and Charges policy and procedures on its website. Each school shall publish the policy on its website and include it in the school's student handbook which shall be provided to each student and his/her parent or legal guardian at the beginning of each school year in the manner determined by the School Board.
The Student Fees, Fines and Charges policy shall be reviewed annually and revised as necessary.
DEFINITIONS
Fees shall mean any monetary payment or supplies required as a condition of a student being enrolled in school or participating in any curricular or co-curricular activity. Fees shall not include supplies or monetary payment for extracurricular activities. Fees shall not mean the cost of school meals.
Curricular and co-curricular activities are activities that are relevant, supportive, that are an integral part of the program of studies in which the student is enrolled, and that are under the supervision and/or coordination of the school instructional staff.
Extracurricular activities are those activities which are not directly related to the program of studies, which are under the supervision and/or coordination of the school instructional staff, and which are considered valuable for the overall development of the student.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Any school supplies not covered by the Monroe City School Board requested by classroom teachers of a student's parent or legal guardian shall not exceed a published amount per student per school year as determined by the School Board. Each school principal shall approve all school supplies requested by classroom teachers. Prior to assessing a fee for school supplies or developing a school supply list, consideration shall be given to the existing school supply inventory. A student shall not be denied the opportunity to participate in a classroom activity due to his or her inability to provide requested supplies. Requests for school supplies should not exceed $75.00 per student per year.
DAMAGE TO TEXTBOOKS/INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
The School Board may require parents and/or legal guardians to compensate the school district for lost, destroyed, or unnecessarily damaged books and materials, and for any books which are not returned to the proper schools at the end of each school year or upon withdrawal of their dependent child. Under no circumstances may a student of school age be held financially responsible for fees associated with textbook replacement; however, parents or guardians will be held financially responsible for fees associated with replacement of textbook.
Compensation by parents or guardians may be in the form of monetary fees or as determined by the School Board. In the case of monetary fees, fines shall be limited to no more than the replacement cost of the textbook or material, but may, at the discretion of the School Board, be adjusted according to the physical condition of the lost or destroyed textbook. The School Board may waive or reduce the payment required if the student is from a family of low income and may provide for a method of payment other than lump-sum payment.
Under no circumstances may a school or school district refuse the parent/guardian the right to inspect relevant grades or records pertaining to the child nor may the school or school district refuse to promptly transfer the records of any child withdrawing or transferring from the school, per requirements of the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Under no circumstances may a school or school district deny a student promotional opportunities, as a result of failure to compensate the school district for lost or damaged textbooks. Students shall not be denied continual enrollment each grading period nor re-entry in succeeding school years as a result of lost or damaged books.
Students shall not be denied the use of a textbook during school hours each day. The school system shall annually inform parents and/or legal guardians of the locally adopted procedures pursuant to state law and regulation, regarding reasonable and proper control of textbooks.
Revised: October 3, 2017
Revised: December 3, 2019
Ref: 20 USC 1232(g-i) (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:112, 17:177, 17:178
Board minutes, 10-3-17, 12-3-19
Monroe City School Board