Nagy v. Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, No. 82S01-0409-CV-428 (Ind. March 30, 2006)
The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that a school district’s imposition of a $20 student services fee on all students in grades K-12 violates Article 8, Section 1 of the Indiana Constitution, which guarantees a tuition-free public education. A parent filed a class action suit in state court challenging Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation’s (EVSC) fee on the grounds it violates the public education provision of the state constitution and the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause. The trial court dismissed the state constitutional claim, but granted summary judgment to the parents on the federal due process claim insofar as it applied to students who qualify for free or reduced school lunch and textbook programs. The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s dismissal of the state constitutional claim, ruling that the fee violated Article 8, Section 1 because how the revenues are spent means the fee amounts to tuition.
The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the intermediate court’s decision on the state constitutional claim, but for different reasons. The supreme court focused on determining what “tuition” means within the context of Article 8, Section 1. After reviewing the historical context in which the provision was adopted by the voters of Indiana, as well as the accepted dictionary definition of the word “tuition” in mid-nineteenth century America, the court agreed with EVSC that “tuition contemplates only fees for instruction.” The court found that the legislature or, through delegation, the state board of education has the sole authority to determine what programs, activities, projects, services, and curricula constitute part of a uniform system of public education and, thus, require public funding. Programs, activities, projects, services, and curricula that fall outside or expand on what the legislature has identified are considered “extracurricular” and not part of a publicly funded education. As a result, local school districts may charge a reasonable fee for student participation in these activities. However, the court concluded that EVSC’s student services fee did not fall into the extracurricular category because it is imposed on all students, is deposited into a general fund, and is used to offset the costs of things that the legislature through the state board has identified as part of a uniform system of public education.
Nagy v. Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, No. 82S01-0409-CV-428 (Ind. March 30, 2006)
[Full opinion]
[Editor’s Note: The earlier Legal Clips summary of the Court of Appeals ruling in the case is posted on the NSBA School Law pages.]
[NSBA School Law pages on appeals court ruling]