Maryland public schools would be prohibited from charging fees for texts, workbooks and anything else linked to academic course work, under a bill Maryland House Majority Leader Kumar Barve said he would introduce this year.
In Virginia’s Loudoun County, public school students will pay nothing for textbooks and classroom fees, but in Montgomery County Public Schools, they could pay more than $200, depending on the school and the classes.
Last year, Montgomery’s community schools Superintendent Sherry Liebes intervened when parents of students at Potomac’s Winston Churchill High School complained that students were asked to pay for texts in certain Advanced Placement classes. Liebes reminded Principal Joan Benz that Maryland state code requires high schools to fund books for all students. Nonetheless, in years past many instructors have sent letters home requesting money for workbooks or even the main texts of some courses in Montgomery.
“I didn’t have to pay all these fees when I went to school in Montgomery County,” Barve said. “I’m doing something about it because it’s not right to charge for things related to academic course work in public schools.”
In Maryland, parents recently brought the issue to the attention of the state attorney general’s office. A response from the lead counsel to the state’s Department of Education found “anything directly related to a school’s curriculum must be available to all without charge.” Barve said his bill would not apply to field trips, tickets for school plays or musicals, or even charging kids for gym uniforms.
