Request By:
Mr. Robert Storer
Assistant Principal
Scott High School
5400 Old Taylor Mill Road
Covington, Kentucky 41015
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; John F. Zink, Assistant Attorney General
Re: Opinion Request
As the Assistant Principal of the Scott High School, you have requested an opinion of this office on the following question:
May the public common school charge students a fee for the cleaning of band uniforms?
In answering your question, it is first necessary to examine the language of KRS 158.107(1), which provides:
No public common school shall charge a fee, or rental, or require a student to purchase instructional materials for enrollment, full participation or completion in any regular school program, grades kindergarten through twelve (12). Fees do not include items of personal attire, purchase or rental of musical instruments, or materials, other than instructional materials, which become the property of the pupil. (Emphasis added).
In OAG 78-835, this office stated that KRS 158.107 prohibits the charging of a fee for any activity, program, or trip which is tied in with or connected to the student's enrollment or full participation in any regular school program.
It is clear from the language, quoted above, that "items of personal attire" are specifically exempted from the fee prohibition of KRS 158.107. As such, school students could be required to pay for their band uniforms. It is therefore a logical extension of that position to the position that students could be required to pay for the cleaning of their band uniforms.
Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that a fee may be charged students for the cleaning of band uniforms.