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Monday, August 18, 2008
Ind. Law - "State has duty to pay for school books"
The Supreme Court's 2006 decision in Frank Nagy, et al. v. Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation (for background, start here) is the subject of an editorial today in the South Bend Tribune. Some quotes:
When the Indiana Constitution and the Indiana Code are at odds, which should take precedence?Most would agree that the Constitution trumps the code. But that has not been the case when it comes to charging students for the textbooks used in public schools.
That’s because the Indiana Supreme Court has succeeded supremely in dodging this issue. The solution is for the General Assembly to face up to the state’s responsibility to cover the cost of public education, as the Constitution requires — including textbooks.
That would mean changing the Indiana Code.
The state Constitution says it’s the duty of the General Assembly to provide education “wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all.”
But the Indiana Code, enacted by the General Assembly, says that school systems may charge students to rent textbooks. * * *
[T]he Indiana Court of Appeals in 2004 found a $20 activities fee then charged by Evansville-Vanderburgh County School Corp. to be unconstitutional. The court issued a broad opinion that included textbook fees in a list of expenses it deemed to be the responsibility of the state.
Just when it looked as if the textbook issue might be resolved — and in a way favorable to the constitutional mandate and Hoosier families — the Supreme Court agreed to review the case, thus vacating the Appeals Court decision.
The Supreme Court contemplated the case for nearly two years and in 2006 issued a very narrow decision. It said that the $20 fee was indeed unconstitutional in a state that promised free public education. But it didn’t mention textbooks.
Perhaps the justices thought it better to maintain the status quo than to upset a whole new group of people. Whatever the logic, the court did a disservice to Indiana families. It also did a disservice to school systems that find themselves in the role of collection agencies, trying to pry hundreds of dollars from families that are dealing with other back-to-school expenses. * * *
Forty-seven states have it right: The cost of textbooks most assuredly is part of the cost of public education and should be shared by all taxpayers.
In the words of the Indiana Court of Appeal in its 2004 ruling: “It is absurd to suggest that public schools may not charge for the services of a teacher, but may charge students a fee for things as essential to teaching and instruction as the services of a teacher, such as school buildings, maintenance, heating and cooling, electricity, or textbooks.”
We could not agree more. When a new General Assembly convenes in 2009 — after the election in November — lawmakers should correct their past failing.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 18, 2008 08:28 AM
Posted to Indiana Law