FILE: JS
Cf: JR
STUDENT FEES, FINES AND CHARGES
The Cameron Parish School Board may assess certain student fees or charges to all students enrolled, for participation in specific courses, and/or for participation in various student activities. Under no circumstances may report cards or other educational records be withheld for failure to pay a fee.
Prior to the start of each school year, the Superintendent and staff shall prepare, or update as needed, the Cameron Parish School System Student Fees Schedule which shall include the following information regarding student fees:
a list and description of each student fee being assessed,
the authorized range or dollar amount for each student fee,
a description of how each student fee will be collected and used,
the process whereby students and families may request an economic hardship waiver,
the criteria by which economic hardship waivers may be approved, and
the frequency of the approval of such waivers
The annual Cameron Parish School System Student Fees Schedule may also include, but not be limited to, the following information:
the deadline by which each student fee is due and the desired method of payment,
the process for collection of unpaid fees, and
the process whereby denial of a request for an economic hardship waiver may be appealed.
The annual Cameron Parish School System Student Fees Schedule, which shall include a description of the process by which students or their parents/guardians may request an economic hardship waiver, shall be published on the School Board’s website and on the website of each school, as well as in each school’s student handbook.
Economic Hardship Waivers
The School Board may reduce or waive certain fees for economically disadvantaged students and students whose families are experiencing economic hardships and are financially unable to pay them. Examples of families facing economic hardship include, but are not necessarily limited to, families receiving unemployment benefits or public assistance, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid; foster families caring for children in foster care; and families that are homeless. Additional information regarding requests and criteria for economic hardship waivers related to student fees may be found in the Cameron Parish School System Student Fees Schedule.
All requests for economic hardship waivers of student fees and documentation submitted for consideration in connection with same will remain confidential.
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.
Payment by parents/guardians may be in the form of monetary fees or community/school service activities, 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 an imposed monetary fee if the student is from an economically disadvantaged family and/or may provide for a method of payment other than lump-sum payment.
In lieu of monetary payments, both the School Board and parents/guardians may elect to have students perform school/community service activities, provided that such are arranged so as not to conflict with school instructional time, are properly supervised by school staff, and are suitable to the age of the child.
Under no circumstances may a student be denied promotional opportunities as a result of lost or damaged textbooks or failure to compensate the school district for same. Students shall not be denied continual enrollment each grading period or re-entry in succeeding school years as a result of lost or damaged books or failure to compensate the school district for same.
Students shall not be denied the use of a textbook during school hours each day. The school system shall annually inform parents/legal guardians of the locally adopted procedures pursuant to state law and regulation, regarding reasonable and proper control of textbooks.
Revised: October, 2001
Revised: February 12, 2018
Ref: 20 USC 1232 (g-i) (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
34 CFR 99 (Family Educational Rights and Privacy)
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:112
Board minutes, 1-29-18
Cameron Parish School Board