Indiana Coalition for Public Education — Monroe County
  • About Us
    • Mission & Vision
    • Our Beliefs
    • By-Laws
    • Who Is Our Lobbyist
    • Why We Need to Defend Public Education
    • Board Members
    • Friends
    • How You Can Help
  • How to Join
  • Meetings & Events
    • Meetings & Calendar
    • Events
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Press
    • Contact the Press
    • In the News
    • Press Releases
    • Videos
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters

Indiana: Get rid of textbook fees for public school students

1/16/2018

 
Sign the Petition to Get Rid of Textbook Fees
Picture
Indiana is one of a handful of states that do not fund textbooks for public school districts. Instead, our state encourages districts to pass the costs along to families and to pursue debt collection if families are unwilling or unable to pay. Families who receive free or reduced lunch can qualify for textbook assistance, but money is tight for many families who do not meet the cutoff.

The costs are considerable, anywhere between $100 to $300 per student, depending on the district and the grade level. (Wealthier districts are likely to charge and provide more—another avenue for disparities in the academic experience to creep into our schools.) Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation sued more than 500 families over three months this year for unpaid bills, including bills for textbooks. Think about it. Textbooks and other curricular materials are not exactly extras. They are central to teaching and learning. And yet our state pits schools' need for these essential tools against the finances of families who may struggle to pay. So much for a free public education. In 2014, then-state-superintendent Glenda Ritz asked legislators to fully fund public education and pay for textbooks by adding $70 million to the schools' budget. They didn't.

To put that $70 million in perspective: $70 million or thereabouts is currently paid by Indiana's public school families for what is supposedly a "free" public education, and yet, for the 2016-2017 school year, Indiana sent $146 million in public dollars to private, mainly religious schools through the voucher program. In other words, even though the state is not paying for a basic necessity, textbooks, in public schools, we fling money away to schools which are not owned by the public and have no accountability to the public--no public oversight through elected boards, no transparency in budgets, curriculum, or hiring practices.

To add insult to injury, private school parents and homeschoolers in Indiana can write off school supplies and textbooks when they file their taxes, but we don't get to write off those costs if we send our kids to public schools.

House Bill 1169 would address this problem. It would require public schools to provide curricular materials at no cost to students, and would establish a fund and appropriations for state reimbursement of public schools’ curricular costs.

Our challenge is to get state legislators to support House Bill 1169 and the idea of actually funding textbooks for all public school students. Lawmakers are only going to do this if they are contacted by people in their districts.

We have written a petition asking legislators to act this session to eliminate textbook fees. We hope you will sign it and share it with your friends.

Petition to the Indiana Legislature: Support HB 1169 to Eliminate Textbook Fees for Public School Students (click here to sign)

Other ways you can act:

1. Share your story in the comments here. How much did textbooks cost you this year? Were there things you didn't do or buy in order to be able to afford to pay for textbooks?
2. Call or write Representative Tim Brown, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Representative Jeffrey Thompson, the chair of its K-12 subcommittee, to demand that HB 1169 receive a hearing. You can reach their offices through the House switchboard at 800-382-9841.
3. Write a letter to the editor  of your local newspaper. Most newspapers have online submission forms. Please email us (icpe.mc@gmail.com) if you need help finding your paper's online submission page.
4. Write a letter to your state senator and state representative. If you don't already know who your legislators are, click here to find them.
5. Write a letter to your superintendent and school board members asking them to take action to support HB 1169.

Join Us!
Khristine Albaladejo
10/17/2018 08:55:37 pm

It's ridiculous we are being charged for "books". I have sent 5 of my children to public schools in three states: California, Nevada and now Indiana. I received a bill for book rental for almost $1200. The fees are outrageous!


Comments are closed.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Categories

    All
    Accountability
    A To F Grades
    Call To Action 2020
    Call To Action 2022
    Cathy's Speeches
    Charter School Program (CSP)
    Charter Schools
    Covid 19
    CRT
    Death By A Thousand Cuts $
    Democracy
    Diploma
    Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs)
    Equity
    Events
    Follow The Money
    Free Lunch
    ILEARN
    IPS
    Kindergarten
    Petitions
    Race/history
    Redistricting
    Referendum Sharing
    Religion
    Reopening
    School Board
    School Choice
    School Marketing
    Special Education
    Statehouse
    Teachers
    Tech Trep
    Testing
    Textbooks
    Vic's Statehouse Notes
    Vouchers
    Year In Review

    Archives

    April 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014

    Friends

    Vic's Statehouse Notes
    Network for Public Education
    Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • About Us
    • Mission & Vision
    • Our Beliefs
    • By-Laws
    • Who Is Our Lobbyist
    • Why We Need to Defend Public Education
    • Board Members
    • Friends
    • How You Can Help
  • How to Join
  • Meetings & Events
    • Meetings & Calendar
    • Events
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Press
    • Contact the Press
    • In the News
    • Press Releases
    • Videos
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters