Student Well-Being

Indiana Court Strikes Down Mandatory Fees

By Laura Greifner — April 11, 2006 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Indiana Supreme Court has struck down a school district’s $20 school activity fee as a violation of the state constitution because, the court said, it is equivalent to a tuition charge.

The 22,100-student Evansville-Vanderburgh school district imposed the fee on all K-12 students in the 2002-03 school year. The money was used to pay for nurses, school counselors, alternative education, and activities such as music, athletics, and drama, among other purposes. According to court papers, the fee was part of an attempt to balance the district’s budget, which had a $2.3 million deficit in 2002.

Some parents of students in the district, including some whose children qualify for federally subsidized school lunches, filed the suit in 2002.

The Indiana Constitution guarantees a public education “wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all.”

“The mandatory fee [the district] imposed generally on all students, whether the student avails himself of a service or participates in a program of activity or not, becomes a charge for attending a public school and obtaining a public education,” Justice Robert D. Rucker wrote for the majority in the 4-1 decision on March 30.

Fran Quigley, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which represented the plaintiffs, said that even though the fee was small, “for some of our clients, it was a financial hardship.”

“Indiana’s constitution clearly states that tuition should be without charge, and it seemed clear to us and our clients that the type of fees that were being charged in Evansville fell into that category of tuition,” Mr Quigley said.

The state high court also held that for extracurricular activities, not considered part of a publicly funded education, “a reasonable fee may be assessed, but only against those students who participate in or take advantage of them.”

Tom Hutton, a staff lawyer with the National School Boards Association, in Alexandria, Va., said that many districts charge fees for athletics or other extracurricular activities, but that the charge depends upon whether a student wishes to participate.

“The problem here [in the Indiana case] is everybody pays whether they participate or not,” he said.

Drivers’ Education

The decision left some unanswered questions for Indiana school districts.

“I think we’re more confused now about what we can charge for than before [this case] went to trial,” said Julie M. Slavens, a staff lawyer with the Indiana School Boards Association. She said that because the ruling says school districts cannot charge for services related to the state-mandated curriculum, districts are faced with some funding dilemmas.

“We’re required to offer drivers’ ed,” Ms. Slavens said. “It’s mandated by the state board of education, so it should be provided for. Does that mean we can’t charge a reasonable fee for gas, oil, wear and tear on the cars now?”

Neither Mr. Hutton nor Ms. Slavens knew of any other districts across the country that had been imposing a mandatory activity fee on all students.

A version of this article appeared in the April 12, 2006 edition of Education Week as Indiana Court Strikes Down Mandatory Fees

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Rethinking STEM Assessment: Strategies for Administrators
School and district leaders will explore strategies to enhance STEM assessment practices across their district, within schools and classrooms.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
Federal Webinar Keeping Up with the Trump Administration's Latest K-12 Moves: Subscriber-Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
Artificial Intelligence Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: Math & Technology: Finding the Recipe for Student Success
How should we balance AI & math instruction? Join our discussion on preparing future-ready students.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being What School Leaders Learned When They Talked to Families About Absenteeism
A district enlisted its community to find out why students were missing school and responded accordingly.
5 min read
Image of a school bus driving on the road in the rain.
Willowpix/iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being Opinion Social Media Is Awash With Bad Health Advice. This Lesson Can Help
Why a librarian and health educator teamed up to teach students the red flags of misleading claims.
Nicole Murphy & Cynthia Sandler
4 min read
This image portrays a young woman deeply engaged with her smartphone, seen through a distorted, swirling blur effect. The artistic composition highlights the concept of doomscrolling, brainrot, digital addiction, social media immersion, and the modern reliance on technology. The surreal perspective creates a sense of detachment, illustrating how screens can shape and blur reality.
E+/Getty
Student Well-Being What RFK Jr.'s New COVID Shot Recommendations Could Mean for Students
The health and human services secretary said that annual COVID shots are no longer recommended for healthy children.
5 min read
Elsa Estrada, 6, smiles at her mother as pharmacist Sylvia Uong applies an alcohol swab to her arm before administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a pediatric vaccine clinic for children ages 5 to 11 set up at Willard Intermediate School in Santa Ana, Calif., Nov. 9, 2021.
Elsa Estrada, 6, smiles at her mother as pharmacist Sylvia Uong applies an alcohol swab to her arm before administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a pediatric vaccine clinic in Santa Ana, Calif., on Nov. 9, 2021. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is no longer recommending annual COVID shots for healthy children.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Student Well-Being Trump Cracks Down Against Explicit AI Images. What It Means for Schools
A new federal law could give schools more leverage to deal with a growing challenge of sexually explicit AI-generated images and videos.
9 min read
President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump and others, after signing the Take It Down Act during a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House, May 19, 2025. The new law criminalizes the creation and sharing of non-consensual intimate imagery online, which has been a growing challenge for schools.
President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump and others, after signing the Take It Down Act during a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House, May 19, 2025. The new law criminalizes the creation and sharing of non-consensual intimate imagery online, which has been a growing challenge for schools.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP