As state budgets get slimmer by the year, school systems suffering devastating cuts — a collective $17 billion nationwide in the past two fiscal years, partially counteracted by stimulus funds — are passing their costs on to students.

The Wall Street Journal finds examples of schools charging fees for electives and advanced placement classes, and finds one family who ended up shelling out more than $4,000 in fees for the school year. High schools in several states pile on hundreds of dollars of fees for registration, technology and vague “instructional fees.”

Schools justify the fees by saying they’re needed to support some programs that would otherwise face the guillotine, and insisting that students from low-income families get waivers.

If your kid is in school, what fees are you asked to pay?

Public Schools Charge Kids for Basics, Frills [The Wall Street Journal via Metafilter]

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