patrick.net

I was a bit shocked when I went to re-register my daughter for another year at public school but the online registration would not let me enroll her until I agreed to pay for insurance for a mandatory school-issued iPad, or assume all liability for even accidental damage for it.

Since I was pretty sure that's illegal, I complained and was then allowed to register her without either paying or agreeing to accept all liability for it.

But now she's being singled out for public humiliation as the only student whose parents didn't just roll over and obey. They won't let her take the iPad home, and at the same time they require her to do homework on it. They're using her now to pressure me to agree to the illegal charge.

Not sure what else to do, I called the ACLU and was happy to hear that I'm not alone. These illegal fees have increased in recent years and caused considerable hardship for thousands families that can't pay. Often they are not even given required textbooks until they pay some illegal fee. I can pay, but the principle of the thing really bothers me. The school should obey the law, especially the state constitution.

So the ACLU has filed suit and it looks like they are going to win:

http://www.aclu-sc.org/doe/

Anticipating the win by the ACLU, the state legislature is trying to head off some kind of judgement against the state by enacting a law that provides mechanisms to enforce the state constitution's ban on fees for public schools, AB 1575. That bill is on the governor's desk right now

Not sure what to do in the immediate future though, since this is harming my daughter right now. Perhaps I could agree to the illegal liability for a week, maybe enough time for the governor to sign the law (if he is going to).

Or could I get an emergency injunction that would force the school to treat my daughter just like all the other students, and not discriminate because we are protesting illegal fees?

I can't figure out how to get an emergency injunction though. I looked at the San Mateo County court website for hours and got nowhere. Calling didn't help either. The people at the county court offices are not helpful.

Advice?