That sounds like the same as charging; they are not providing students the books they are required to read. I just looked at the College Board site for AP Lit – it doesn’t require 10 novels, and the sample syllabi that they post seem to indicate that a teacher can easily put together a syllabus composed of the two district adopted texts (see http://publicportal.ousd.k12.ca.us/199410824125026113/lib/199410824125026113/Core_Adopted_Materials_High_School_2010-2011.pdf), works in the public domain, and works for which multiple copies are readily available in the district. http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/courses/english_lit.html

So it seems to me that Skyline is not really acting entirely appropriately.

I didn’t see the student’s comment, but that just points out the need for the lawsuit — a student being asked to pay for a book for AP lit? That is blatantly illegal, and I’ve never heard of it at Oakland High. It sounds like poor planning at Skyline, more than anything else. Heck, for every kid that takes an AP class, the school doesn’t have to buy a regular textbook, so I doubt that AP Lit is much more expensive to teach than is regular English. Even assuming that it costs an extra $100 per kid (which it shouldn’t), that is $6000 for 2 AP Lit sections, and $9000 for three. Even with budget cuts, that is a drop in the bucket for a school the size of Skyline. So, if they were charging kids for books, there is something very, very wrong.

I do want to say that I have always been offended by things like being directed to purchase ridiculous things at hills elementary schools, e.g. Creative Memories scrapbooking supplies for a family history project, Teddy Bears on field trips to the factory (who wants their kid to be the only one not getting a bear?), etc… I had to pay hundreds for the fabulous trips to multiple day trips, and could ill afford it on a teacher’s salary. The people who had less only had to come up with half the going rate, but I imagine it hurt even more.

Maybe it’s positive fallout from the Williams settlement, but in my experience Oakland students all receive copies of the books they’re expected to read. The football players don’t pay for their uniforms or supplies, and while I don’t know who does, there are concessions sold at every game to help fund the team. The field trips are paid for with school or district funds, or with grants, and some of the places they go are free. I believe parents may be asked to chip in for some of the overnight trips, but those aren’t school time events, and there are exceptions made for students who just don’t have the funds.

We might not be the national norm, though. There are certainly teachers who spend too much of their own money on school supplies, and districts that allow them to do so, and probably districts that budget accordingly.

I wonder how this will play out in schools where parents are required to perform X numbers of volunteer work as a condition of their children’s enrollment.

All the ACLU seems to have done is to ensure that schools are following state law. If it is truly a problem, then the law should be changed. But schools should certainly not be ignoring laws. I would think that we can all agree on that.

In Alameda, elementary schools on the East (richer) side of town have art auctions where elementary school art is auctioned off to the highest bidder. At the other end of town there is not enough money for art supplies, and parents would never think about “buying” their children’s art. the charter school students at Alameda Community Learning Center rode to the field trips in double decker buses, while their regular school counterparts walk to catch AC Transit and BART to go on field trips.

Think about Prom. How can a school in good conscience charge $75 to $100 dollars for a kid to go to Prom knowing the kid is on free/reduced lunch? Should the school now pay for this or should Prom now be cancelled? what about the dress or tuxedo? does the school pay for this too?

Teachers have to hustle to raise funds for field trips, supplies, computers, test fees, conferences, and curriculum. this has now become a standard pRt of the job. this is whY the ACLU does not recognize in bringing cases like this. the public schools are quite literally starving to death.

The reason is they don’t like what they don’t identify with. And they have been carefully trained by their public schools to put their own personal pleasures and preferences above all else.

On the other hand they just fall in love with some of the most destructive and incompetent lawyers – because they tell them exactly what they want to hear untill it’s too late to save them.

Pepe, I wasn’t annoyed with you personally – it’s just the “I wouldn’t want you” comment is exactly what I’m getting to with the black students. This type of thinking is learned in poor schools and leads to the bad results the blacks wind up with across the board.

In my experience they are just not treated as if they are going to be needed, important or valuable to anybody – it’s reflected in their lack of caution, they are not being taught in the way (for example) most of the jewish kids are.

And the difference is evident in all aspects of their behavior by age 18. Crossing the street, for example.

No amount of forcing the public schools to “equalize” all their students is going to stop this destructive process. My advice to black families is get your kids out of OUSD yesterday and put them in a good Charter. They don’t need this kind of “equality”. It’s bad for them.

Brave New World.