5500

Policy

 

STUDENTS

 

STUDENT FEES POLICY

 

The Board of Education of Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools adopts the following student fees policy in accordance with the Public Elementary and Secondary Student Fee Authorization Act.

 

The District's general policy is to provide for the free instruction in school in accordance with the Nebraska Constitution. This generally means that the District's policy is to provide free instruction for courses which are required by state law or regulation and to provide the staff, facility, equipment, and materials necessary for such instruction, without charge or fee to the students.

 

The District does provide activities, programs, and services to children that extend beyond the minimum level of constitutionally required free instruction. Students and their parents have historically contributed to the District's efforts to provide such activities, programs, and services.

 

The District's general policy is to continue to encourage and to require, to the extent permitted by law, such student and parent contributions to enhance the educational program provided by the District.

 

Under the Public Elementary and Secondary Student Fee Authorization Act, the District is required to set forth in a policy its guidelines or policies for specific categories of student fees. The District does so by setting forth the following guidelines and policies: this policy is subject to further interpretation or guidance by administrative or Board regulations which may be adopted from time to time. The Policy includes Addendix “1”.  This provides further specifics of student fees and materials required of students for the upcoming school year.  Parents, guardians, and students are encouraged to contact their building administration or their teachers or activity coaches and sponsors for further specifics.

 

(1) Guidelines for non-specialized attire required for specified courses and activities

 

Students have the responsibility to furnish and wear non-specialized attire meeting general District grooming and attire guidelines, as well as grooming and attire guidelines established for the building or programs attended by the students or in which the students participate. Students also have the responsibility to furnish and wear non-specialized attire reasonably related to the programs, courses and activities in which the students participate where the required attire is specified in writing by the administrator or teacher responsible for the program, course or activity.

 

The District will provide or make available to students such safety equipment and attire as may be required by law, specifically including appropriate industrial-quality eye protective devices for courses of instruction in vocational, technical, industrial arts, chemical or chemical-physical classes which involve exposure to hot molten metals or other molten materials, milling, sawing, turning, shaping, cutting, grinding, or stamping of any solid materials, heat treatment, tempering, or kiln firing of any metal or other materials, gas or electric arc welding or other forms of welding processes, repair or servicing of any vehicle, or caustic or explosive materials, or for laboratory classes involving caustic or explosive materials, hot liquids or solids, injurious radiations, or other similar hazards. Building administrators are directed to assure that such equipment is available in the appropriate classes and areas of the school buildings, teachers are directed to instruct students in the usage of such devices and to assure that students use the devices as required, and students have the responsibility to follow such instructions and use the devices as instructed.

 

(2) Personal or consumable items and miscellaneous items

 

Extra-Curricular Activities

 

Students have the responsibility to furnish any personal or consumable items for participation in the extra-activities provided by the District.      

 

Courses

 

(i)             General Course Materials

 

Items necessary for students to benefit from courses will be made available by the District for the use of students during the school day.  Students may be encouraged, but not required, to bring minor personal or consumable items including, but not limited to, pencils, paper, pens, erasers, protractors, math calculators and notebooks. A student supply list shall be established annually for each grade, course and activity and shall be distributed to students and parents annually as a part of the student handbook or as an addendum to the student handbook. Such supply list shall be approved as part of the review of this policy and shall be considered a part of this policy. The list may include refundable damage or loss deposits required for usage of certain District property.

 

 

 

(ii)            Damage

 

Students are responsible for the careful and appropriate use of school property.  Students and their parents or guardian will be held responsible for damages to school property caused or aided by the student and will also be held responsible for the reasonable replacement cost of school property which is placed in the care of and lost by the student.

 

(iii)           Materials required for course projects

 

Students are permitted to and may be encouraged to supply materials for course projects.  Some course projects (such as projects in art and shop classes) may be kept by the student upon completion.  In the event the completed project has more than minimal value, the student may be required, as a condition of the student keeping the completed project, to reimburse the District for the reasonable value the materials used in the project.  Standard project materials will be made available by the District.  If a student wants to create a project other than the standard course project, or to use materials other than standard project materials, the student will be responsible for furnishing or paying the reasonable cost of any such materials for the project.

 

(iv)          Music Course Materials

 

Students must furnish musical instruments for participation in optional music courses that are not extracurricular activities. Use of a musical instrument without charge is available under the District's fee waiver policy (Section 12); however, the District is not required to provide for the use of a particular type of musical instrument for any student.

 

(v)           Parking

 

Students may be required to pay for parking on school grounds or at school-sponsored activities, and may be subject to payment of fines or damages for damages caused with or to vehicles or for failure to comply with school parking rules. 

 

(3) Extracurricular Activities Specialized Equipment or attire

 

Extracurricular activities means student activities or organizations which are supervised or administered by the District, which do not count toward graduation or advancement between grades, and in which participation is not otherwise required by the District.

 

The District will generally furnish students with specialized equipment and attire for participation in extracurricular activities. The District is not required to provide for the use of any particular type of equipment or attire. Students may furnish their own specialized equipment and/or attire rather than that which is provided by the district provided that equipment and/or attire meets standards established by the district and has the approval of the coach, leader, conductor or sponsor.

 

Students have the responsibility to furnish personal or consumable equipment or attire for participation in extra curricular activities or for paying a reasonable usage cost for such equipment or attire. For music courses that are extracurricular activities, students may be required to provide specialized equipment, such as musical instruments, or specialized attire, or for paying a reasonable usage cost for such equipment or attire.

 

 

(4) Extracurricular Activities-Fees for Participation

 

The District charges a fee established annually for participation in extra-curricular activities except those activities which are a required part of a curricular class that leads to earning credit towards graduation or grade promotion. Such fee schedule shall be established annually by the Board of Education, shall be published in the student handbook and such fee schedule shall be considered to be a part of this policy. Any fee for participation in extra-curricular activities collected shall be used for the purpose for which it is collected and shall be kept separate and apart from all other funds in a student fee fund. The Board of Education shall establish annually as a part of the fee schedule the purpose of the fee and approve all disbursement of monies from such fund.  Fees collected under the fee schedule shall permit the student to take part in school activities as a participant or as a spectator. Fees shall be waived for free and reduced lunch students in accordance with the waiver policy. (Section 12).

 

Admission fees for extracurricular activities and events may be charged by the district at a rate established by the board of education as a part of the student fee schedule.

 

 

(5) Postsecondary education costs

 

Students are responsible for postsecondary education costs. The phrase "postsecondary education costs" means tuition and other fees associated with obtaining credit from a postsecondary educational institution. For a course in which students receive both high school and postsecondary education credit or a course being taken as part of an approved accelerated or differentiated curriculum program, the course shall be offered without charge for tuition, transportation, books, or other fees, except tuition and other fees associated with obtaining credits from a postsecondary educational institution.

 

(6) Transportation costs

 

Students are responsible for fees established for transportation services provided by the District as and to the extent permitted by federal and state laws and regulations.

 

(7) Copies of student files or records

 

The Superintendent or the Superintendent's designee shall establish a schedule of fees representing a reasonable cost of reproduction for copies of a student's files or records for the parents or guardians of such student. A parent, guardian or students who requests copies of files or records shall be responsible for the cost of copies reproduced in accordance with such fee schedule. The imposition of a fee shall not be used to prevent parents of students from exercising their right to inspect and review the students' files or records and no fee shall be charged to search for or retrieve any student's files or records. The fee schedule shall permit one copy of the requested records be provided for or on behalf of the student without charge and shall allow duplicate copies to be provided without charge to the extent required by federal or state laws or regulations. The district shall also provide duplicates of records for other school districts or post-secondary institutions a student plans to attend at no charge.

 

(8) Participation in before-and-after-school or Pre-kindergarten services

 

Students are responsible for fees required for participation in before-and-after-school or pre-kindergarten services offered by the District, except to the extent such services are required to be provided without cost.  .

 

(9) Participation in summer school or night school

 

Students are responsible for fees required for participation in summer school or night school. Students are also responsible for correspondence courses.

 

(10) Breakfast and lunch Programs

 

Students shall be responsible for items which students purchase from the District's breakfast and lunch programs. The cost of items to be sold to students shall be consistent with applicable federal and state laws and regulations.

Students are also responsible for the cost of food, beverages, and personal or consumable items which the students purchase from the District or at school, whether from a "school store," a vending machine, a booster club or parent group sale, a book order club, or the like.

 

(11) Waiver Policy

 

The District's policy Is to provide fee waivers in accordance with the Public Elementary and  Secondary Student Fee Authorization Act. Students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches under the United States Department of Agriculture child nutrition programs shall be provided a fee waiver or be provided the necessary materials or equipment without charge for: (1) participation in extracurricular activities.

 

Participation in a free-lunch program or reduced-price lunch program is not required to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches for purposes of this section.

 

(12) Distribution of Policy

 

The Superintendent or the Superintendent's designee shall publish the District's student fee policy in the Student Handbook or the equivalent (for example, publication may be made in an addendum or a supplement to the student handbook). The Student Handbook or the equivalent shall be provided to students of the District at no cost.

 

(13) Student Fee Fund

 

The School Board hereby establishes a Student Fee Fund. The Student Fee Fund shall be a separate school district fund not funded by tax revenue, into which all money collected from students and subject to the Student Fee Fund shall be deposited and from which money shall be expended for the purposes for which it was collected from students. Funds subject to the Student Fee Fund consist of money collected from students for: (1) participation in extracurricular activities, (2) postsecondary education costs, and (3) summer school or night school.

 

CERTIFICATION

 

On the 21st day of June, 2003, the school board held a public hearing at a meeting of the school board on a proposed student fee policy. Such public hearing followed a review of the amount of money collected from students pursuant to, and the use of waivers provided in, the student fee policy for the 2002-03 school year. The foregoing student fee policy was adopted after such public hearing by a majority vote of the school board at an open public meeting in compliance with the public meetings laws.  The policy was revisited and approved June 2012.

 

Legal References:

Laws 2002, LB 1172 (The Public Elementary and Secondary Student Fee Authorization Act) Neb. Constitution, Article VII, section 1.

Neb. Rev. Stat. §§79-241, 79-605, and 79-611(transportation)

Neb. Rev. Stat. §79-2,104 (student files or records)

Neb. Rev. Stat. §79-715 (eye-protective devices)

Neb. Rev. Stat. §79-737 (liability of students for damages to school books)

Neb. Rev. Stat. §79-1104 (before-and-after-school or prekindergarten services)

Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 79-1106 to 79-1108.03 (accelerated or differentiated curriculum program)

 

Date of Adoption: June 3, 2002

Revised July 21, 2003

Revised June 18th, 2012

 

5500

Regulation

 

 

 

Students

 

Student Fees

 

 

 

 

Fee Schedule: 

 

            7-12 Students - Extra-curricular Activity Fee        $25

           

Reproduction of Records                                  50 cents per page

                        *Waived to send to other educational institutions.

 

            Commencement Exercises Participation             $30

 

Admission

 

            Varsity Athletic Events/School Plays and Musicals

 

            Adults: $5

            Students: $4

 

            Non-varsity Athletic Events and other school events.

 

            Adults: $3

            Students: $2

 

            The building principal or his/her designee may waive admission fees for all spectators at an event at his or her discretion.

 

 

Travel

 

The district shall collect fees for transportation to and from school as permitted by law. The district shall not collect fees for travel to and from school extra-curricular activities or the travel portion of school sponsored trips including those which are considered to over night or long-distance travel under policy 6153.1.  Overnight and long distance travel may take place if it meets the criteria of district policies for such travel and provided that the expenses for such travel are borne by the district either through tax supported funds or through student activity funds.

 

All group travel shall include the entire group or a select portion of the group with a selection process that is not discriminatory based on the district’s discrimination policy. The ability of a student to pay shall not be a criteria for participation in school sponsored travel.

 

Nothing precludes an individual or staff member to travel on his or her own without school sponsorship. Nothing precludes staff from traveling with or without students at their own expense and without be compensated to travel by the district.

 

Uniforms

 

The District will generally furnish students with specialized equipment except as stipulated within Policy 5500 and attire for participation in extracurricular activities. The District is not required to provide for the use of any particular type of equipment or attire.

 

The district shall provide all uniforms that are not fitted to a particular student and the equipment required by the district to be a part of a club, team, organization or squad except for that specified in policy 5500. The district shall not collect funds from free and reduced price lunch students for such uniforms or equipment. Such funds may come from tax supported funds or from student activity funds.

 

Uniforms that are specially fitted to a particular student and that cannot be reused for others shall become the property of that student. Funds for these types of uniforms shall be paid for by the student or through fundraising by the group or organization.  The district shall pay for any specially fitted uniform for a free and reduced lunch student but reserves the right to retain ownership of the uniform upon completion of the activity.

 

The administration shall approve any uniform prior to final selection in order to consider its appropriateness to school dress codes and its cost to students and the district.

 

Nothing shall preclude groups or individuals from making donations to a particular club, team or squad provided the donation meets the district criteria for the acceptance of a donation and provided the donation is being made to the benefit of the entire club, team, organization or squad. Nothing precludes a student, with permission from the coach or sponsor, to purchase and provide his or her own equipment and/or specialized attire.

 

Students have the responsibility to furnish personal or consumable equipment or attire for participation in extracurricular activities. For music courses that are extracurricular activities, students may be required to provide specialized equipment, such as musical instruments, or specialized attire, or for paying a reasonable usage cost for such equipment or attire.

 

The provision of uniforms and equipment may be limited by the district and in no case shall the funds exceed the available funds on hand unless a reasonable plan has been established to remove any deficit spending.

 

Organizational and Class Dues

 

The district shall not charge students dues or fees to participate in a school organization, class, squad, team, club or non-optional school activities except that which is established as a part of the fee schedule.