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Civil Libertarians Take on ?Pay to Play? ? As In High School Football

By Michael Rothfeld

It's that time of year again for high school students around the country -- with all the excitement and apprehension of the first day back to the classroom, the fresh smell of new notebooks, the fees to play football and march in the band. Wait a minute -- fees to march in the band? It's been a long time since high school and we never marched in the band, but we can't ever remember getting an invoice from the Track & Field team. But according to this report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, several school districts in California are taking heat from the American Civil Liberties Union over policies -- which the group says are illegal under state law -- that charge fees for extracurricular activities. At Poway High School for instance, there are fees of $50 to $500 to register for marching band, concert band, color guard, etc. Football players have to pay a $30 "coaching fee." At Mt. Carmel High, students reportedly have to fork over $1691 for cheerleading. The practice is sometimes known as "Pay to Play" and there is  . . .

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on August 24, 2010 (boomark / email).