Homeschooled or private school students looking to enroll in a la carte classes or participate in sports or arts activities with Leon County Schools will now have to pay up.
“What’s important for everyone to know is that these are students that are outside the district receiving scholarships, receiving vouchers that are in homeschool or private school programs outside the Leon County School District,” Superintendent Rocky Hanna told the Tallahassee Democrat. “Now we’re creating a kind of a la carte menu on the academic side.”
Florida’s Personalized Education Program Scholarship, also known as PEP, gives students an educational savings account with about $8,000 each year to cover part-time enrollments and any necessary materials and fees outside of tuition costs.
Deputy Superintendent Michelle Gayle said the costs will be mostly covered using PEP dollars, so most families won’t have to pay out of pocket. She added the fees are non-transferrable and nonrefundable.
The district’s registration for classes and activities opened July 28 and the deadline for enrolling is Aug. 6.
Sports and arts fees are on a site by site basis and could costs anywhere between $400 to $1,500.
The option was previously offered at no additional cost.
“This is a process that we are all engaging in. What is going to happen now is we are going to assess a fee to these students which will help us with overhead costs,” LCS director of secondary schools Benny Bolden said, emphasizing that the effort is being launched around the state.
The topic was discussed during the July 28 school board meeting on the same day registration opened.
LCS has uploaded a webpage to its site with details on costs, and breakdowns by semester, grade, and courses for students.
Elementary course offerings
Middle and high school offering
Families looking to enroll in classes or activities programs can visit www.leonschools.net/80437_4.
Alaijah Cross covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at abrown@tallahassee.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County Schools adds fees for homeschool, private students
Reporting by Alaijah Cross, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alaijah Cross, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
