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State lawmakers are seeking to answer whether school districts can charge students for electronic devices like Chromebooks.
Many districts in Trumbull County have Chromebooks in classrooms and some offer devices to take home. The question is whether the districts can charge students anything, even insurance costs, for those devices.
Under Ohio law, school districts are required to furnish to all students, free of charge, textbooks and materials used in the course of instruction, and any student receiving a free lunch cannot be charged a fee. However, another section of the law states schools can charge reasonable fees for electronic equipment.
House Education Committee Chairman Andrew Brenner requested guidance from the Ohio Department of Education on the issue and state Rep. John Boccieri, D-Poland, said the law needs clarification.
Boccieri said many districts are using Chromebooks as textbooks. Boccieri recently sent a letter to the West Branch Local School District Board of Education asking them to reconsider their policy of charging $70 for Chromebooks, and the district refunded students on the free and reduced lunch program who were charged.
"It is my firm belief that if students are using these Chromebooks for classroom work and as textbooks, they should not be charged for them," Boccieri said.
Champion Local Schools recently provided students in grades four to eight Chromebooks to take home. Superintendent Pamela Hood said only those parents who chose to have their children bring the device home, about 200 out of nearly 500 students, were charged a $35 insurance fee. Hood said since taking the device home is optional, and no students in the free lunch program were charged, the district is in the clear. The charge exists to defray potential damage costs, she said.
Superintendents at Lakeview Local Schools and Howland Local Schools also charge $35 insurance fees to cover damages. Howland Local Schools Superintendent Kevin Spicher said the devices are not used in lieu of textbooks, but only to enhance curriculum.
Other districts like Campbell City Schools and Joseph Badger Schools provide students electronic devices to take home without insurance charges.
"We do everything to eliminate barriers and we do not charge for access to education," Campbell Local Schools Superintendent Matthew Bowen said.
jwysochanski@tribtoday.com