FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Beginning this school year, all Indiana schools will be required to follow the new law passed in the 2023 legislative season.

With this law in place, schools are no longer allowed to charge families for curricular materials. This entails all things that teachers need to conduct a class like technology and course fees. 

Indiana schools are now receiving $151 per student in order to cover this fee, but depending on the grade and class schedule, this may not be enough to cover the expenses. 

“First of all we think this is a good chance for families and we support it, we think it’s a step in the right direction,” said Dr. Bill Toler, asst. Superintendent, NACS. “Our concern right now is that we are going to receive 151 dollars per student to cover all of the curricular material fees and that really isn’t enough to cover everything we need for our students. We want to provide them with everything they need to get a good solid experience during the school day.”

With grades like kindergarten through 8th grade, the law covers most fees, but with high school grades and more advanced classes, the cost of curriculum goes up.

The average cost of curriculum for a high school student is well over the amount of money that schools are receiving from the state. With freshmen averaging at about $330 in the SACS school district, this is leaving schools to budget money in order to cover the costs they were expecting to pay.

Depending on how academically intense a student’s schedule is, the more it could cost. If the course is required, or if students receive a grade for the class, schools cannot ask parents to cover these costs due to the new law.

For example, classes like performing arts could raise fees for schools to provide materials like costumes, instruments, and transportation.

This is now leaving many Indiana schools in a rush to rework their budgets and could impact the salary of teachers and other administration.