A Sacramento Superior Court judge has backed the Folsom High School music boosters' practice of asking parents for donations to support extracurricular activities.
The ruling by Judge William M. Gallagher centers on the issue of whether the boosters were requesting or requiring students to pay to participate in the school's various bands. (emphasis mine--Darren)
Gallagher's one-page judgment, issued late last week, contains no explanation for his decision overturning a small-claims court award to Donna Kinsella, a Folsom parent who has argued that students shouldn't have to pay dues to take part in the high school's band programs...
Vroom (President of the Music Boosters) said no student has been denied participation because of an ability to pay and that in some cases scholarships have been provided.
Kinsella said Wednesday that she couldn't afford to appeal Gallagher's decision.
It's unfortunate that Ms. Kinsella cannot afford to appeal this decision, as the case law is entirely on her side. The precedents are clear--whether or not a student can afford to pay, required fees are illegal. Even so-called scholarships are expressly prohibited.
This case has no bearing on my issue in my own school district, though, where we're charging students for classes taken during the school day (as well as for sports uniforms).
2 comments:
I'd love to learn more about this. My daughter's California public school has told my daughter that, since she has not paid for an educational field trip, that she may not go this Thursday.
She apparently cannot be "scholarshipped".
My Yahoo email address is in my profile.
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