Meth Pe tae ue PO B0x87131 San Diego, CA 92138-7132 619-232-2321 F/619-232-0036 wow aclusandiego.org GbE August 3, 2010 Mark Bresee, Esq. General Counsel San Diego Unified School District 4100 Normal St. San Diego, CA 92103 Re: Fees Charged for School Acti ‘Dear Mark: | was interested to read the Union-Tribune story on school fees, as my office has been investigating the issue as well. I appreciate your concern for the issue. I write to highlight the ACLU’s concer with ensuring that all schools comply with the California Constitution’s requirement of a free public education. In addition to the fees mentioned in the article, my office has discovered the following instances of fees apparently charged by individual schools within SDUSD. We gathered this information from schools’ websites, booster club or PTA meeting minutes, emails sent from teachers and coaches to parents or other interested individuals, as well as other sources. We are not certain whether these fees are currently being charged, but call them to your attention for your information: © Band fees: Point Loma High School requires parents of band students to make a $300 “fair share” contribution to cover band expenses such as instruments, uniforms, festival entry fees, and coaching. Scripps Ranch High School requires parents of band and color guard students to pay between $300 and $375 as a “fair share” contribution, and students ‘must purchase their own marching shoes and gloves. © Physical exam fees: At Clairemont High School, student athletes are required to get physical exams from private physicians at a cost of $30-35. Mira Mesa High School charges $20 for required physicals for student athletes. Patrick Henry High SchoolMark Bresee, Esq. August 3, 2010 Page 2 requests a $25 “donation” for physicals, which are required to participate in field hockey and other school sports. [ASB fees: La Jolla High, Point Loma High, and Lincoln High require students to purchase ASB cards to be eligible to play school sports, charging $15 at La Jolla and Point Loma, and $20 at Lincoln. Athletic fees: Scripps Ranch High School charges students playing on the school’s lacrosse team $300 in dues, and requires them to purchase spirit packs for $50. Lacrosse players at Serra High Schoo! must pay dues of $250 per year. Cheer fees: Cheer members at Clairemont High must pay a minimum of $1097 per year, with extra costs for additional equipment and competition uniforms. Crawford High cheerleaders have to pay fees of $350 for the year, plus approximately $50 for cheer camp. At Serra High, cheerleaders must pay $455-485 for uniforms, $335 for summer cheer camp, $500 for coaches” donations, plus an additional $395 for optional uniform items, and $50 for the competition squad. AP exam fees: At Point Loma High and Scripps Ranch High, class syllabi for various AP classes state that students are required to take the AP exam, which cost $86 in 2010, Class dues: Lincoln High School students are required to pay “class dues” of $3 to fund class activities. Extracurricular activity fees: At Lincoln High and Point Loma High, students are required to purchase an ASB card in order to participate in any extracurricular activities. The card costs $20 at Lincoln High, and $15 at Point Loma. We ask that the district promptly investigate these matters and ensure that schools collect only those fees specifically allowed by the California Constitution and refund any fees that have been improperly charged. ‘Thank you again for your attention to these important issues. Please let me know if you have any questions. Sincerely, favid Blair-Loy Legal Director