Education

Texas School District Charged Mom Nearly $1,300 To Review Book List

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Chrissy Clark Contributor
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A Texas public school district attempted to charge two parents nearly $1,300 to review a list of books available to children in classrooms, according to a complaint filed by a subsidiary of the Goldwater Institute.

Jenny Crossland, a Texas mother, filed a public records request with the Fort Worth Independent School District asking for the books available to kindergarten students. The school district told Crossland that it would take 84.5 hours of labor and cost the mother $1,267.50 to produce the list, according to correspondence posted by the anonymous self-described “conservative mom” who runs the website Momma Bear Politics.

Kristine Denapolis West, who pulled her eighth-grade daughter from Fort Worth Independent School District, put in a public record request seeking similar information. The district provided her with the same response as Crossland.

West, in affiliation with the right-libertarian Goldwater Institute, filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General’s office challenging the “unreasonable” charge, which she claims violates Texas law. The Goldwater Institute alleges that the district is “imposing prohibitive charges that keep parents in the dark.” (RELATED: School District Charged Parent Group More Than $45,000 For Public Records Request)

Texas law requires that public records fees be “reasonable” and that public records under 50 pages be limited to photocopying charges, according to the state AG’s website. West requested that the Attorney General investigate the school district over this dispute.

“It is highly unlikely to the point of improbable that a list of required or suggested reading material — even for thirteen grade levels — surpasses 50 pages. The District’s charges therefore also violate the Attorney General’s cost rules,” the complaint reads.

Fort Worth Independent School District did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.