Board reviews revised student fee schedule after state changes; Unified Sports added to UHSAA list

Salt Lake City School District officials on Feb. 8 reviewed proposed changes to the 2025–26 student fee schedule and the district’s fee-waiver procedures following amendments in House Bill 415.

The presentation by district legal and finance staff summarized changes in state law that narrow what can be charged to secondary students, remove fundraising from the definition of a fee, and create new requirements for boards to approve fees individually. Staff outlined required disclosures, maximum-aggregate fees per student, and the district’s fee-waiver categories and confidential appeals process.

Why it matters: The law reshapes which charges schools may require and strengthens confidentiality and waiver rights for low-income families. The district must adopt a revised fee schedule, administrative procedures, and public-comment process before April 1 to meet the statutory deadline.

Details: District counsel and the business office walked the board through the policy and a draft K–12 fee schedule. Key points: - State law limits secondary fees to curricular or co‑curricular items tied to core instruction, and it expressly allows fees for items such as instrument rental, driver education, certain exams and concurrent/IB/AP course materials (subject to waiver). - Elementary schools in the district will not charge fees; any voluntary supply requests must be clearly disclosed as optional. - The draft removes many curricular fees at middle and high schools; the district plans to keep listed amounts as maximums and to rely on fee waivers where needed. - Unified Sports was added to the district’s UHSAA fee schedule so the program can buy uniforms, provide transportation and build a year‑round participation model; staff said Special Olympics and the district foundation will help fund the program but the fee is kept as a contingency. - UHSAA travel fees were considered for increase (a West High request for a $600 raise) but school leadership recommended keeping travel fees at current levels; Highland sought a $100 reallocation from travel to spirit packs to keep family costs unchanged.

Board members pressed staff on equity and logistics. One board member asked that the finance committee pursue the district goal of universal free lunch, noting an estimated annual cost of about $2,000,000; other members said that proposal would be most appropriate to develop through the finance committee and the regular budget cycle. Staff said free-or-reduced-lunch eligibility already automates fee-waiver qualification and the district is working to reduce duplicate applications.

Next steps: Staff will post the draft fee schedules for the district’s two required public‑comment hearings and return with the final documents for board approval before the April 1 statutory deadline. The board did not take final action on the fee schedule at the Feb. 8 meeting.

Ending: The board directed staff to bring the schedules back for public comment and to provide any requested edits before formal consideration in a public meeting.