The start of the school year comes with a laundry list of supplies, lunch menus and textbook rental fees.
Public school corporations in Indiana have charged textbook rental fees for years, said Eric Rody, chief financial officer for Lafayette School Corp.
“The meaning of the word ‘free’ is not necessarily a word in the monetary sense,” he said. “The term free is meant to be a school that is freely open to anyone in the public.”
Indiana is one of 29 states that allows local agencies or schools to choose textbooks and charge rental fees, according to the Education Commission of the States.
The Indiana State Board of Education allows corporations to decide which books to use. Corporations cannot charge more than 25 percent of the purchase price per year for six years, or more than 15 percent annually after six years.
“You can’t make a profit on this. You only charge the student what it costs to provide the book,” said Vickie Pearl, director of special services for Tippecanoe School Corp.
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