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Sunday, May 07, 2006

Ind. Decisions - Still more on: "Schools Can No Longer Charge Parents for Full-Day Kindergarten"

A story by Erin Smith in the Lafayette Journal and Courier on Friday updated this May 4h ILB entry. Some quotes from the J&C story:

Tippecanoe School Corp. officials are expected to make plans today to cancel 10 sections of full-day kindergarten after a recent Indiana Supreme Court decision made charging fees for certain programs unconstitutional.

The state Department of Education's legal department issued a warning to school districts who charge for full-day kindergarten programs.

State law requires that kindergarten be offered but does not specify either half- or full-day programs, a memo sent to school districts stated. That means schools cannot charge fees for a student to attend either kindergarten, said Kevin McDowell, the education department's top attorney.

TSC superintendent Richard Wood said the state's interpretation of the ruling leaves little hope that the district can continue to offer parent-supported full-day kindergarten.

"We can't afford to waive the cost of that program," Wood said of the district's tuition-based kindergarten, where parents pay about $200 a month for full-day classes. "We're going to lose the program, reassign those teachers and notify the parents."

Here is the May 1, 2005 memorandum from the general counsel of the Indiana Department of Education on the effect of the Supreme Court's decision in Nagy, et al. v. Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation on full-day kindergarten. A quote:
The Indiana Department of Education has received a number of inquiries regarding the effect of the Nagy decision on full-day kindergarten. Under Nagy, a publicly funded school cannot assess a tuition charge for attendance in a full-day kindergarten. This became effective as of March 30, 2006, the date the Supreme Court issued its decision.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 7, 2006 09:38 AM
Posted to Ind. Sup.Ct. Decisions