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Thursday, August 25, 2005

Ind. Gov't. - More on Indiana textbook fees

The Munster (NW Indiana) Times has a story today on textbook fees and the Nagy v. Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corp case awaiting a state Supreme Court decision. The ILB wrote about both briefly in this entry Monday, titled "Indiana textbook fees, and a possibly relevant pending appeal." Some quotes from today's story by Olivia Clarke:

Forty-one states and the District of Columbia provide free textbooks for all or most of their students -- but not Indiana or Illinois. Both states allow textbook fees to be charged to make up the cost of the books, according to study this year by the Education Commission of the States.

The Indiana Civil Liberties Union is challenging the practice of charging students a fee to pay for school nurses, counselors and alternative education as done in the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corp.

The case claims the fees violated both the Indiana Constitution's guarantee of a free public school education and due process. The Indiana Supreme Court has yet to rule.

"We are not asking the Indiana Supreme Court to rule on textbook rental fees," although the court may address the issue, said Fran Quigley, ICLU executive director.

"... It's hard to have a state constitution provision which guarantees free public education. And it's hard to reconcile that with the fact that for kids to go to public schools, parents have to produce money." * * *

The issue is not new for lawmakers. For about 20 years the topic of free textbooks has popped up in the state legislature, said State Rep. Joe Micon, D-West Lafayette.

Micon was one of the authors of a bill during the last session that would have added a phrase in the state constitution saying children are entitled to a free public education that includes free textbooks. The bill did not get a hearing.

The price tag, between $60 million and $70 million, is what typically prevents a statewide change, he said.

"This is an issue that has always hinged on the dollars," he said. "The legislature always seems to come up with something better to spend that $60 or $70 million on. This is an expense that hits families hard, and especially hits working families hard."

Charging book rental fees allow districts to spread the cost of books over six years, but not every family can or does pay, Portage Superintendent Michael Berta said.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 25, 2005 09:15 PM
Posted to Indiana Government