Can a Tennessee public school require students to pay fees for field trips that take place during regular school hours?

Plain-English summary

The executive director of Tennessee's State Board of Education asked whether Tennessee schools could charge mandatory fees for field trips that fell within the required 180 instructional days. AG Robert E. Cooper, Jr. answered no. Article XI, Section 12 of the Tennessee Constitution requires "free public schools," and Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-110(c) implements that command by barring schools from charging any fee that operates as "a condition to attending the public school or using its equipment while receiving educational training."

The opinion confirmed both the existing State Board of Education rule (which allowed schools to "request" but not "require" fees for field trips during the school day) and the proposed updated rule that took effect August 29, 2010. A required fee for an in-school-day field trip would impact a student's access to education, and would likely involve school equipment (a bus). Both characteristics flunked the statutory test. The AG drew on a 2003 opinion (No. 03-116) that had analyzed locker maintenance fees the same way: the test is (1) board approval, (2) effect on access to education, and (3) use of school equipment.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: What's the difference between "request" and "require"?
A: A request is voluntary; a student who can't or won't pay still gets to participate. A requirement makes participation conditional on payment, and that's the part the statute prohibits. The State Board's rule was explicit on this distinction: "may be requested from but not required of any student, regardless of financial status."

Q: Did this apply only to field trips?
A: No, the analysis applied to any in-school-day activity. The State Board rule covered fees for "activities that occur during regular school hours (the required one hundred eighty (180) instructional days), including field trips, any portion of which fall within the school day." It also extended to "activities outside regular school hours if required for credit or grade."

Q: Could a school require fees for after-school activities?
A: The opinion did not directly answer that, but the State Board rule's language suggested fees for activities outside regular school hours were permissible unless the activity was required for academic credit or grade. An optional extracurricular club could probably charge a participation fee; a graded after-school lab might not.

Q: What about the school bus?
A: That part mattered. The AG said that when a field trip used a school bus, the students were "using school equipment while receiving educational training," which was a separate ground the statute prohibited. So even if the destination admission fee was collected on a request basis, requiring a bus fee likely failed.

Q: How did the AG analyze this?
A: Using a three-part test from Op. 03-116 (the locker fee opinion): was the fee approved by the board of education; did the fee affect the student's access to education; did the fee involve use of school equipment used while receiving educational training? Failing any of the latter two prongs makes the fee impermissible if it is required.

Q: What should a school do if it can't fund a field trip without fees?
A: The opinion did not prescribe alternatives, but the school had several options: solicit voluntary contributions, fundraise from outside sources, scale back the activity, or fold the cost into the school budget. What it could not do was condition student participation on payment.

Background and statutory framework

The Tennessee Constitution's free-public-schools clause (Article XI, Section 12) is a substantive guarantee, not just an aspirational principle. The General Assembly implemented it through Title 49, and Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-110(c) is the operative rule on fees: "The school shall not require any student to pay a fee to the school for any purpose, except as authorized by the board of education, and no fees or tuitions shall be required of any student as a condition to attending the public school or using its equipment while receiving educational training."

The statute carves a narrow space for board-approved fees, but adds two outer limits: no fee can condition school attendance, and no fee can condition use of school equipment during educational training. Even a board-approved fee fails if it crosses those limits. The State Board of Education's existing rule (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-03-.03(13)(b)(I)) and the proposed update both repeated the "request but not require" phrasing for in-school-day activities.

The 2003 locker fee opinion (Op. 03-116) had been the first to articulate the three-prong test. Locker fees were not in any State Board rule, so they were tested directly under § 49-2-110(c). The AG concluded a locker fee could fail because it affected access to education and used school equipment. The 2010 opinion extended the same test to field trips, where State Board rules added explicit guidance.

Citations and references

Tennessee Constitution:
- Tenn. Const. art. XI, § 12

Statutes:
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-110

Regulations:
- Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-03-.03(13)(b)(I)

Prior opinions referenced:
- Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. No. 03-116 (Sept. 15, 2003) (locker fees)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2010/op10-096.pdf

Original opinion text

School Fees

QUESTION

Do the State Constitution and statutes allow a school to require students to pay fees for field trips, any portion of which occur during regular school hours (the required 180 instructional days)?

OPINION

No. Requiring a fee for a field trip would be in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-110(c).

ANALYSIS

Article XI, § 12, of the Tennessee Constitution states, "The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance, support and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools." To that end, the General Assembly has enacted the system of laws contained in Title 49 of the Tennessee Code. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-110(c) specifically addresses school fees: "The school shall not require any student to pay a fee to the school for any purpose, except as authorized by the board of education, and no fees or tuitions shall be required of any student as a condition to attending the public school or using its equipment while receiving educational training." Both the current State Board of Education rule and the proposed rule on school fees reflect the provisions of this statute. See Tennessee Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-03-.03(13)(b)(I). The proposed rule, which will take effect on August 29, 2010, states as follows:

The following school fees may be requested from but not required of any student, regardless of financial status . . . Fees for activities that occur during regular school hours (the required one hundred eighty (180) instructional days), including field trips, any portion of which fall within the school day; or for activities outside regular school hours if required for credit or grade.

Both the proposed rule and its predecessor state that a public school may request but not require school fees for field trips, any portion of which fall within the school day. Requiring such a fee would constitute "a condition to attending the public school" as it impacts a student's access to education. In instances where a school bus is utilized, the students would be using school equipment while receiving educational training.

This office has previously considered the subject of school fees in Op. Tenn. Atty. Gen. No. 03-116 (Sept. 15, 2003). In that opinion, the question concerned whether a public school could require students to pay a locker maintenance fee. Unlike field trips, locker fees are not specifically listed in the State Board of Education rules. This office examined the three requirements of the statute in determining whether a locker fee was a legal school fee: (1) was the fee approved by the board of education; (2) does the fee affect the student's access to education; and (3) does the fee concern use of school equipment used while receiving educational training. The same analysis can be applied to field trips. Requiring a fee for a field trip would affect the student's access to education because it would constitute a condition to attending school, and the fee could involve using school equipment.

ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter

CHARLES L. LEWIS
Deputy Attorney General

MELISSA ANN MOREAU
Assistant Attorney General

Requested by:
Gary L. Nixon, Ed.D.
Executive Director
Board of Education
9th Floor, Andrew Johnson Tower
Nashville, TN 37243-1050