The question of the day: Some schools are withholding report cards due to nonpayment of fines. Is this legal?
When I lived in Texas (up to 2014), my school withheld report cards for nonpayment of lost/damaged library books and unpaid cafeteria charges. After the last day of school ended, I had to turn in a list of students who had not paid for lost or damaged library books, and the report cards were not mailed with the rest of the student report cards in the first week of summer.
Instead, if parents wanted the report card, they had to come to the school to pick it up in the office, where they were informed of the fine. They could choose to return the book (undamaged) or pay the replacement cost. We did get many fines paid and books returned this way, but there were always some report cards left over when we returned to school in August. Parents could, after all, see all their students’ grades in the online gradebook anyway.
I have heard differing opinions on whether or not it is legal for schools to withhold report cards for nonpayment of fines, so I decided to do a little fancy Googling and find out for myself if this practice is, in fact, legal.
It turns out, it depends on where you live. I did not look up all 50 states individually, and for some states, I could not locate legal information about consequences for nonpayment of fines and fees. Most of the states I did find information on do in fact limit a school’s ability to hold records due to nonpayment of lost/damaged library books.
Policies and links will change over time. I will update this article from time to time with any changes that might happen. The last update of this article was April 5, 2023, and I checked every link to ensure it works. I updated links and information accordingly.
An interesting tidbit before we start…When researching this issue, I saw a lot of South African sites and news articles about this very issue. I’m not going to link them here. If you are curious, search “withholding report cards for nonpayment of fees” in Google, and look for the sites that end in .za. That’s the internet country code for South Africa. Really interesting stuff!
I do need to write a disclaimer here: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice.
TEXAS
We’ll start with Texas since I know my school at least withheld report cards. According to the Section 31.104(d) of the Texas Education Code, schools may may withhold the student’s records “if instructional materials or technological equipment is not returned in an acceptable condition or paid for…” This same subsection states that, “A district or school may not, under this subsection, prevent a student from graduating, participating in a graduation ceremony, or receiving a diploma” (Education Code).
Under Section 28.022 of the Education Code, a school district must give the parent written notice of the student’s performance in each class or subject at least once every 12 weeks. The district must comply with this rule regardless of nonpayment of fines. (Education Code)
Muddying the waters, however, is this document from Texas Association of School Boards. It states that library books are not “instructional materials” but are instead “instructional resources,” designed to be used voluntarily by students.
Texas Education Code Sect. 31.002 (1) defines “Instructional Materials” as: “a book, supplementary materials, a combination of a book, workbook, and supplementary materials, computer software, magnetic media, DVD, CD-ROM, computer courseware, on-line services, or an electronic medium, or other means of conveying information to the student or otherwise contributing to the learning process through electronic means, including open education resource instructional material.”
This definition does not explicitly mention library books. (Education Code)
So for Texas, I am not really sure if the school district had a right to withhold report cards for overdue library books. The Education Code seems to indicate that it’s legal to withhold reports for instructional materials, at least for a short time, but are library books “instructional materials”? Library books are not specifically named in the Education Code definition of “Instructional Materials.” And the TASB does specifically name them as instructional resources, which according to TASB, are not the same thing.
I am not an attorney. This is not legal advice.
CALIFORNIA
In California, EC Section 48904 (b) states that if any public or private school’s property is “willfully cut, defaced, or otherwise injured,” the school may hold report cards, transcripts, and even diplomas “after affording the pupil his or her due process rights.” This includes school property loaned to students with the expectation of return to the school, which by that definition would include library books. (California Department of Education: Lost or Damaged Instructional Material Liability)
The key word for Californians is WILLFULLY. To me, this means that someone intentionally cut, defaced, or otherwise injured school property. When push comes to shove, the burden here would have to be on the school to prove willful intent. I would think in most cases, proving intent to damage a library book would be pretty much impossible.
Because EC Section 48904 mentions “due process rights,” my guess is that this policy is most likely used more for things like vandalism or other criminal behaviors than it would be used for lost library books.
Again, I am not an attorney. This is not legal advice.
NEW YORK
New York public schools are not at allowed to hold report cards or transcripts at all. I’ve included the entire policy below because I really like the way the New York State Education Department words it. New York does make a point to say that “nonpublic” schools (i.e., private schools) have a contractual relationship with students and their families and are therefore under no obligation to provide transcripts if fines and fees are unpaid.
“The school may not withhold student grade reports. It has long been the position of the New York State Education Department that a public school may not withhold grades, a transcript, or books from a student for any reason. A student is entitled to those items as part of a free public education guaranteed pursuant to Education Law 3202. If a student or parent owes the district money, the district may resort to civil proceedings to recover the money, but may not withhold records or books to compel payment.
Since there is a contractual relationship between a family and a nonpublic school, nonpublic schools may refuse to provide cards or transcripts to a student whose family has not fulfilled their obligation to pay all tuition and fees.” (NYS Education Department FAQs)
While I do like the way this policy is stated, I imagine it results in many unreturned library books in New York Public Schools, and I hope the school districts keep this in mind when they allocate funds for school libraries.
I am not an attorney. This is not legal advice.
OTHER STATES
MINNESOTA: “Schools may not suspend or exclude students or withhold students’ grades or diplomas for failing to pay school fees.” (Minnesota’s Public School Fee Law)
VIRGINIA: “Local school boards shall not: 1. Withhold any student’s scholastic report card or diploma because of nonpayment of fees and charges, in accordance with § 22.1-6 of the Code of Virginia.” (Virginia Law Education Code)
TENNESSEE (Shelby County Public Schools): “Report cards, diplomas, and transcripts of students who take SCS property or students who have incurred a debt to a school, shall be withheld until the student makes restitution in full.” (Policy 6047: School Fees and Debts)
KENTUCKY: “Several districts use sanctions to leverage students to pay fees. In some districts, student parking passes are revoked for failure to pay parking fees. Other actions reported by districts include withholding participation in school dances and graduation ceremonies. Five districts reported that they withhold student academic records until fees are paid. This is a violation of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. The proper way to collect unpaid debt is through small claims court.” (Legislative Research Commission, Office of Education Accountability: Fees, Dues, and Supplies)
MONTANA: “When a pupil defaces or damages school property, the pupil’s parent or guardian is liable for the cost of repair or replacement upon the complaint of the teacher, principal, superintendent, or any trustee and the proof of any damage.”
Interestingly, the law in Montana also states that if a student transfers to another school while owing a fine to their previous school, the first school should “notify the pupil’s parent or guardian in writing that the school district to which the pupil has transferred will be requested to withhold the pupil’s grades, diploma, or transcripts until any obligation has been satisfied.” (Montana Code Annotated, 2021)
This policy basically requires a student’s new school to hold records until the student pays the fine or fee to their previous school. This could get pretty messy and confusing if the child later transfers to a third school, as does happen sometimes. (Montana Code Annotated, 2021)
I am not an attorney. This is not legal advice.
MY STATE ISN’T LISTED. WHAT NOW?
I tried to find information about multiple states not listed here, but some states are more transparent than others. State laws and individual district policies also change from time to time, so even if your state is listed here, I urge you to still do your own research.
If your state isn’t listed, you can try your school district policies, which are often located online on the district website. Look for the school board page or a page titled “Policies” or “Board Policies.”
If you cannot locate the policies for your area online, your next step is to ask your school principal about it. Tell them you are looking for specific writtten statues or state laws, not just your school’s policies. The principal may be able to point you in the right direction.
Again, I am not an attorney, and this is not legal advice. I am simply a school librarian who has fought library fines my entire career. I hate them and believe they are a barrier to service. I firmly believe that nickels and dimes and even dollars should never come between a student’s access to library materials. I understand there are many librarians and teachers who disagree, and many who agree. I do see both sides, but I will always choose to err on the side of student access to library materials.