A legal group has filed a lawsuit against the Pasadena, Calif., Unified School District for allegedly charging for items that should be free because those students attend public school.
According to a statement released by attorneys for the United States Justice Foundation, the suit -- filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Oct. 25 -- alleges that the school district is charging students "certain fees" for items, fees "prohibited by the constitution of the state of California and by California case law."
The group said state law "requires the provision of a 'free public education,'" which is "paid for by taxes paid by California citizens, fees paid by developers and builders to obtain permission to ply their trade, and a variety of other sources."
However, USJF attorneys allege that the district charges students for "a variety of required items, including … identification cards, binders, physical education clothing and Associated Student Body cards."
The suit asks the court to "bar further enrichment by the school district at the hands of parents and to obtain a refund of the sums improperly connected."
Pasadena School District officials did not return WND's calls for comment.
USJF officials said the most recent suit follows other suits filed by the organization for the same offenses.
"This is the fourth litigation in which we have been involved" with the school district, said Gary G. Kreep, a USJF attorney. "We have won the three previous lawsuits, and the district has been ordered to pay us, so far, over $96,000 in attorney's fees. The law is very clear that the district cannot do what it has been doing for the past several years -- charging the students and, as a result, the parents."
He added that the charges amounted to "mandatory fees for the right to attend public school."
Of the most recent case, Kreep said that "again, this school district has taken the position that it is above the law, and once again, we intend to force it to comply with the law."
The suit comes as the issue of public school funding takes on increased national focus.
Earlier this month, President George W. Bush introduced an education plan that would include funding for school vouchers, which would give parents money to send their children to private or parochial schools if they were dissatisfied with local public schools. Also, Bush's plan would hold public schools more accountable and punish those who do not consistently show improved test scores among student populations.
"The president's plan is essentially an accountability plan," Education Secretary Rod Paige told Business Week in an interview Friday. "It's based on the feeling that [for many years] a lot of good and caring people in the federal government have been addressing education issues through providing resources and establishing programs. But now we think it's time to ask the question, 'What results are we getting?' In order to get the answer to that question, we have to measure."
In a Jan. 20 Portrait of America poll, 53 percent of respondents said Bush's handling of the education issue overall was good or excellent. Thirty-two percent rated his performance as "poor" or "fair."
A more recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll said half of the 1,016 adults polled Feb. 9-11 felt education should be high on the administration's list of policy priorities, and most were even more enthusiastic on his education proposals than on his tax-cut plan.