Student Fees, Fines, and Charges - July 2006 Revision

Fees and charges are to be eliminated in the school program in all required courses. This includes required uniforms such as physical education uniforms. In cases where the student provides tools or materials, which become his/her property, especially when the student exercises choice as to the specific project, material, or design, the student may be required to provide the materials.

Optional Activities

Expense for enrichment assignments in optional activities is allowed. Any optional charge must be approved by the appropriate assistant superintendent "Report On Student Fees" form must be forwarded to the appropriate assistant superintendent for advance approval. Any optional charges must be specified in the official course description.

In all cases provision must be made for students of limited means, and equal assignments must be provided as alternatives without stigma or discrimination. Students shall not be restricted from class activities because of inability to pay.

Uniforms are considered a fee if:

1. Students are denied participation or excluded from the group;
2. Students are graded.

Transcript Charges

The first four (4) transcripts of grades, partial or final, will be made at no cost to the student. This applies to:

1. having the transcript mailed from the school,
2. having the parent or student hand carry the transcript record from the school.

The fifth (5th) and subsequent copies of the transcript record will be provided at the cost of one dollar ($l) per copy.

Lost or Damaged Instructional Materials

APS authorities may hold a student responsible for any lost or damaged instructional material or equipment that was in the student’s possession. Before a student is held responsible, there must be evidence in writing (such as a checkout card) that the student was given responsibility for the material.

APS authorities may withhold the grades, diploma, or transcripts of the student responsible for damage or loss of any instructional material or equipment until the parent, guardian, or student has paid for the damage or loss. When a parent or guardian is determined to be indigent according to guidelines established by the State Board of Education, the District will work with the parent, guardian, or student to develop an alternative program in lieu of payment. A parent or child meets the indigent guidelines if they are eligible for free or reduced price meals.

In no case is the cost of replacement of lost or damaged instructional materials or equipment, such as classroom sets of textbooks or reference materials, to be shared among a group.

Student Financial Obligations

Students may have the following financial obligations:

1. Library -- overdue, damaged, lost, stolen materials
2. Textbooks -- lost, stolen, damages to textbooks
3. Classroom materials and school property
4. Athletics -- uniforms, equipment, trainer supplies
5. Extracurricular -- fundraising monies, other fees.
6. Cafeteria – food services charges and expenses.

Consequences for Non-Payment

A student may be prohibited from participating in the school’s graduation exercises until all financial obligations are met.

The district reserves the right to refer delinquent charges and accounts to a collection agency, when practical.

 

Fines and Charges for Overdue, Damaged, or Lost Materials

	HighSchool	MiddleSchool	Elementary School
Past-Due Material
General Loans: Books and General Use Magazines	$.05 per day	$.05 per day	None
Paperbacks	$.05 per day	$.05 per day	None
Not to Exceed	Current Price *	$1	None
Overnight Loans: Reserve books, encyclopedias, magazines for curriculum units	$.25 per day	$.25 per day	$.25 per day
Not to Exceed	Current Price*	$11	$1
	* Current prices obtained from newest edition of Books-in-Print, or $10 per hardback, $3 paperback; price per magazine issue.
Damages
Missing date due slip, occasional crayon or ink marks	None	None	None
Crayon or ink which interferes with readability; missing circula-tion pockets; torn pages; water damage	$.50 per book	$.25 per book	$.25 per book
Severe damage requiring exten-sive repair time	$1.50 per book	$.50 per book	$.50 per book
Material rendered useless	Current price or $10 per hard-back; $3 paper- back; price per magazine issue	Current price or $10 per hard-back; $3 paper- back; price per magazine issue	Current price or $10 per hard-back; $3 paper- back; price per magazine issue
Lost Material
Items reported lost or not returned after a semester	Current price or $10 per hard -back; $3 paper- back; price per magazine issue	Current price or $10 per hard -back; $3 paper- back; price per magazine issue	Current price or $10 per hard -back; $3 paper- back; price per magazine issue

Current prices obtained from newest edition of Books-in-Print.

General Guidelines

A restriction to on-site use may only be imposed upon a student who abuses library-media center materials.

Parents should be informed of two major school problems:

1. The dollar impact of loss seriously limits a library-media center's ability to replace and also purchase new material. This reduces resources to all students.
2. A student may be asked to look again for materials that have been misplaced.

All school staff should encourage student responsibility for care of library-media center materials.

Cross Ref.:APS Activity Fund Manual

Legal Ref.:

• 22-1-4 NMSA 1978
• 22-10-10.B NMSA 1978
• 22-15-10 NMSA 1978

NSBA/NEPN Classification: JQA

Revised: May 1995
Revised: April 1996
Revised: June 1997
Revised: July 2006

This page was last updated on: December 9, 2009.