Current through Bulletin 2024-06, March 15, 2024
(1) An LEA, school,
school official, or employee may not charge or assess a fee or request or
require something of monetary value in connection with an activity, class, or
program provided, sponsored, or supported by, and including for a co-curricular
or extracurricular activity, unless the fee:
(a) has been set and approved by the LEA's
governing board;
(b) is equal to or
less than the maximum fee amount established by the LEA governing board as
described in Subsection (4); and
(c) is included in an approved fee
schedule.
(2)
(a) If an LEA charges a fee, on or before
April 1 and in consultation with stakeholders, the LEA governing board shall
annually adopt a fee schedule and fee policies for the LEA in a regularly
scheduled public meeting.
(b)
Before approving the LEA's fee schedule described in this section, an LEA shall
provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the proposed fee schedule
during a minimum of two public LEA governing board meetings.
(c) An LEA shall:
(i) provide public notice of the meetings
described in Subsections (2)(a) and (b) in accordance with Title 52, Chapter 4,
Open and Public Meetings Act; and
(ii) encourage public participation in the
development of fee schedules and waiver policies.
(d) In addition to the notice requirements of
Subsection (2)(c), an LEA shall provide notice to parents and students of the
meetings described in Subsections (2)(a) and (b) using the same form of
communication regularly used by the LEA to communicate with parents, including
notice by email, text, flyer, or phone call.
(e) An LEA shall keep minutes of meetings
during which fee and waiver policies are developed or adopted, together with
copies of approved policies, in accordance with Section
52-4-203.
(3) After the fee schedule described in
Subsection (2)(a) is adopted, an LEA may amend the LEA's fee schedule if the
LEA follows the process described in Subsection (2) before approving the
amended fee schedule.
(4)
(a) As part of an LEA's fee setting process,
an LEA shall establish:
(i) a maximum fee
amount per student for each activity; and
(ii) a maximum total aggregate fee amount per
student per school year.
(b) The amount of revenue raised by a student
through an individual fundraiser shall be included as part of the maximum fee
amount per student for the activity and maximum total aggregate fee amount per
student.
(c) An LEA shall include
the total per student amount expected to be received through required group
fundraising as part of the maximum fee amount for an activity described in
Subsection (4)(b)(i).
(d) An LEA
may establish a reasonable number of activities, courses, or programs that will
be covered by the annual maximum fee amount described in Subsection
(4)(a).
(5) As part of an
LEA's fee setting process described in this section, the LEA may review and
consider the following per school:
(a) the
school's cost to provide the activity, class, or program;
(b) the school's student
enrollment;
(c) the median income
of families:
(i) within the school's
boundary; or
(ii) enrolled in the
school;
(d) the number
and monetary amount of fee waivers, designated by individual fee, annually
granted within the prior three years;
(e) the historical participation and school
interest in certain activities;
(f)
the prior year fee schedule;
(g)
the amount of revenue collected from each fee in the prior year;
(h) fundraising capacity;
(i) prior year community donors;
and
(j) other resources available,
including through donations and fundraising.
(6)
(a) If
an LEA charges a fee, the LEA shall:
(i)
annually publish the following on each of the LEA's schools' publicly available
websites:
(A) the LEA's fee waiver policies
and fee schedule, including the fee maximums described in Subsection
(4);
(B) the LEA's fee waiver
application;
(C) the LEA's fee
waiver decision and appeals form; and
(D) the LEA's school fee notice for
families;
(ii) annually
include a copy of the LEA's fee schedule and fee waiver policies with the LEA's
registration materials; and
(iii)
provide a copy of the LEA's fee schedule and fee waiver policies to a student's
parent who enrolls a student after the initial enrollment period.
(b) If an LEA's student or parent
population in a single written language other than English exceeds 20%, the LEA
shall also publish the LEA's fee schedule and fee waiver policies in the
language of those families.
(c) An
LEA representative shall meet personally with each student's parent or family
and make available an interpreter for the parent to understand the LEA's fee
waiver schedules and policies if:
(i) the
student or parent's first language is a language other than English;
and
(ii) the LEA has not published
the LEA's fee schedule and fee waiver policies in the parent's first language.
(7)
(a) An LEA policy shall include easily
understandable procedures for obtaining a fee waiver and for appealing an LEA's
denial of a fee waiver, as soon as possible before the fee becomes
due.
(b) If an LEA denies a student
or parent request for a fee waiver, the LEA shall provide the student or
parent:
(i) the LEA's decision to deny a
waiver; and
(ii) the procedure for
the appeal in the form approved by the Board.
(8)
(a) A
school may not deny a present or former student receipt of transcripts or a
diploma, nor may a school refuse to issue a grade for a course for failure to
pay school fees.
(b) A school may
impose a reasonable charge to cover the cost of duplicating, mailing, or
transmitting transcripts and other school records.
(c) A school may not charge for duplicating,
mailing, or transmitting copies of school records to an elementary or secondary
school in which a former student is enrolled or intends to enroll.
(9) To preserve equal opportunity
for all students and to limit diversion of money and school and staff resources
from the basic school program, each LEA's fee policies shall be designed to
limit student expenditures for school-sponsored activities, including
expenditures for activities, uniforms, clubs, clinics, travel, and subject area
and vocational leadership organizations, whether local, state, or
national.