Chicago Public Schools is proposing to standardize fees that schools charge families for items ranging from sports uniforms and field trips to graduation expenses, according to a report published October 8 by Chalkbeat Chicago. The district also plans to update its fee waiver policy to include homeless students, a change mandated by state law, and establish a clearer appeals process for families whose waiver requests are denied. District leaders presented the proposals Thursday to a new Board of Education finance and audit committee, which voted 7-0 to recommend the changes to the full 21-member board for approval at its October 22 meeting.
Currently, schools must set fees at the start of each year, with principals required to consult Local School Councils and high school students when creating them. Under the proposed changes, a district-level student fee committee headed by the chief of the Office of Network Support would establish standardized fees, which individual schools could request to modify. The district defines school fees as any payment linked to a student's participation in curricular or extracurricular programs, excluding ordinary supplies like pencils and paper but including items such as textbooks or supplies for specific classes like art. About 69% of CPS students come from low-income households, defined as income within 185% of the federal poverty line, or roughly $61,000 for a family of four.
The proposed changes maintain the current definition of a school fee but remove examples of qualifying items from the existing policy, such as textbooks or graduation caps and gowns. Currently, waivers apply to students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals and children of veterans or active-duty military whose income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, or $66,000 for a family of four. Waivers also cover students facing extenuating circumstances such as severe illness or natural disaster impacts, with principals making decisions based on documentation families provide. According to Crystal Dorsey, executive director of school support in the district's Office of Network Support, the policy change is designed to create "a more equitable fee structure for all schools." The district is adding students in temporary housing to the waiver list, whom Dorsey noted are protected by the federal McKinney-Vento Act, which guarantees certain rights for unhoused students or those living doubled up with others.
The changes aim to address concerns about affordability for families in a district where the vast majority of students qualify for fee waivers. Board Vice President Angel Velez, who chairs the finance committee, questioned the rationale for charging fees when such a large proportion of students can waive them, noting that while fees might help schools offset certain costs, some families find them "super difficult" to pay. Under the proposed appeals process, families whose waiver requests are denied would have 30 days to submit an appeal form to the district's Office of Network Support, which would make the final decision, and parents wouldn't be required to pay fees during the appeals process. The district is still collecting data on the fees and plans to gather feedback from parent leaders before finalizing the standardized amounts, signaling that the fee structure will be shaped by community input before implementation.