One of Canada’s top class-action lawyers says B.C. school boards have been wrongfully charging student fees for years – and parents should be reimbursed.
B.C. mother-of-three Susan Fetterkind has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit on behalf of herself and other parents who have paid for workbooks, activities and school supplies over the past 15 years.
Fetterkind said this year alone she paid more than $200 for things like physics and calculus workbooks, student activity fees and graduation activities for her two secondary-school aged children.
She said the fees break provincial laws, and wants her costs reimbursed.
"I want it to be covered for everybody so that lower income families aren't left out if taking certain courses,” she told CTV Vancouver.
Lawyer Tony Merchant, whose firm has won dozens of national class-action suits, called the fees “wrong” and says they must be repaid to parents and students.
“Some people with three to four children are facing $600, $700 every year to have children go to school,” he told CTV News from Regina. “It’s not allowed by law and [it’s] bad social policy.”
The Delta School District has a few weeks to file a legal response. The district declined to be interviewed, and said it cannot comment on potential legal cases.
The B.C. Ministry of Education said school boards can charge fees for exercise books, but if they do, they must have a financial hardship policy in place.
