The legality of arbitrary collection of money at school: what if the school requires money for repairs, textbooks, security, etc.?

The relevance of the topic of requisitions in educational institutions is growing every day. Relatively recently, even to think that parents will have to pay for textbooks or new desks would be rather strange. However, today it is considered the norm, although not very pleasant. Now, not everyone can fight against illegal contributions for additional needs. Some parents continue to indulge the new "orders" of school leadership and the parent committee.

A public look at school fees

Opinions on such a difficult issue differ, but the predominant side takes a defensive position in this way of replenishing the fund of an educational institution. Disagreement of parents is understandable, because education has always been free, so why do you need to constantly pay extra for something, especially since every year certain contributions tend to grow.

The question is not even how relevant these fees are, but the fact that not every family is ready to deduct a tidy sum from its budget. As a rule, both unscrupulous teachers and a dishonest parent committee think little of this. Now, representatives of parents involved in organizational matters are quite capable of leaving part of the funds at home.

Opinions about this can be very different and often parents ask the following questions. Why is the money going? Do they go where indicated originally? How permissible is this in principle? How, in general, can you avoid exactions? Quite often, similar questions are expressed in an aggressive manner on thematic forums. Moreover, this topic is the most popular in forums dedicated to free legal aid.

Holidays, graduations, notebooks, textbooks, security, additional payments to employees, additional classes - all this amounts to a huge amount per year. Parents are asking a natural question, but where does this money actually go, because often the goals set are not fulfilled, they are only voiced at meetings and in person.

Parents would be happy to fight, voicing their decisive "no", but the main nuance is how this affects the child. In society, there was such an idea that if only parents backtrack and refuse to pay certain amounts, this will immediately affect the attitude towards their child - this is underestimation of grades, nit-picking, setting off other children, neglect, intentional ignoring at work in the lesson and stuff. How to cope with an unpleasant problem in society and not harm your child remains a mystery that does not have a clear answer, but requires a careful and even bold approach of parents.

Legislative side

Solving the problem with school requisitions, parents can turn to the law and to those people who share their opinion, that is, enlist the support of the masses and boldly act. At the first stage, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the legal framework in this regard.

Adopted in 2010, the 83rd federal law on education, has already managed to arouse the anger of many teachers and parents. The essence of the innovation is that all educational institutions are switching to a new system of financing from the state budget, namely they will not be fully funded. This simultaneously opens up new opportunities for schools to organize additional classes and open circles, but reduces the students' ability to obtain basic knowledge in each subject. Only basic disciplines indisputably should be provided free of charge and the required number of hours, the rest of the student and his parents select as necessary and pay. It is immediately worth noting here that such a system provides the opportunity to choose a general educational institution, that is, the classical form of training can go hand in hand with innovations.

Based on this law, parents should know that schools can charge for additional classes and study groups, but only if the institution has the appropriate permission and license. Payment is carried out strictly to the bank account of the school.

According to the 273 federal law of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2012, accredited educational institutions receive funding for cost recovery, including:

• remuneration of school workers, including security;

• purchase of textbooks and teaching aids;

• the acquisition of teaching aids, including games, toys, without which the learning process is impossible;

• compensation for the cost of catering for children in school.

This list does not indicate the column “repair”, which is often reminded to parents at the beginning or at the end of the school year, however, it is worth noting that these contributions are exclusively voluntary contributions. And it is also worth noting that during the year no one has the right to demand a fee for restoring furniture or buying a new one, for replacing windows and doors, buying sports equipment, etc. You can participate in the replenishment of the "school fund" if you consider this an objective measure and have the immediate opportunity to do this.

In addition to the already mentioned federal laws, the decree of the Moscow Department of Education of November 3, 2010 on measures to prevent the illegal collection of funds from parents and students is added. This order, in turn, is based on the Law on Education of 1992, as well as on the Law on Consumer Rights.

Based on these laws, parents who do not agree with constant and excessively overpriced fees, which in this case are unreasonable and cannot be supported by relevant reports, must contact the following authorities in writing:

• to the school principal with a written appeal to understand the situation;

• to the education committee with a statement on illegal monetary fees, first to the district, then the city and beyond;

• in case of inaction of higher authorities, to the prosecutor’s office with a statement about illegal fees, corruption;

• anti-corruption committee (possibly anonymous treatment).

But the main weapon remains the public. One statement may not produce the desired effect, but along with all the parents who share your point of view, you can go much further. If you just keep quiet and take it as it is, then over time the fees may become much more than the initial amount.

Relatively comfortable conditions for the child. After the parent refuses to pay any fees, it is worthwhile to understand that the unlawful actions of teachers in relation to the student can also be suppressed by contacting the director, the education committee, the procurator and, in extreme cases, the court. Remember, if you immediately indicate your point of view and show that you are aware of your rights, they are unlikely to go against you. If other parents support you in your actions, no one will be able to objectively justify additional contributions for any needs.