SCHOOL DISTRICT PAY-TO-PLAY REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL SPORTS

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February 15, 2012		2012-R-0069
SCHOOL DISTRICT PAY-TO-PLAY REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL SPORTS

By: Hendrik deBoer, Research Fellow Mark Randall, Research Fellow

You asked which school districts require high-school students to pay to participate in extracurricular school sports (i.e., “pay-to-play”). For those that do, you asked (1) which sports require a fee, (2) for the amount of the fee, (3) if there is a cap on the amount a student or family must pay per year, (4) the policy for waiving the fee, and (5) how much of the sport's cost the fee covers.

METHODOLOGY

We initially e-mailed school districts a survey regarding participation fees. We received only a small response. We followed up by calling high schools, e-mailing high school athletic directors, and researching school and district websites.

PAY-TO-PLAY FEES IN CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS

We obtained information from 116 school districts. Of these, 44 charge a participation fee for high-school athletics. The fees range from $25 per sport to $1,450 for ice hockey. Twenty nine school districts include a maximum amount that a student, family, or both can be charged during a single school year. Schools without a cap are generally those that charge the lowest fees.

Only four schools provided information about how much of the sport's costs the fees cover. The percentage of cost covered by the fees ranged from 10% to 50%.

All of the schools allow the participation fees to be waived or reduced for students with financial need, usually based on whether the student is eligible for reduced-price or free lunches.

Table 1 details 44 school districts' pay-to-play programs.

Table 1: Pay-To-Play Programs in Certain School Districts

*School District*	*Fee Amount* *(per student)*	*Yearly Cap*	*Additional Costs for Specific Sports*	*% of Cost Covered by Fees*
Avon	$175/Team	Two sports/Student Four sports/family	$75 for Crew	N/A
Berlin	$1450/Hockey	None	N/A	N/A
Bolton	$50/Team	$250/Family	None	N/A
Canton	$100/Team	$175/Student $300/Family	None	N/A
Cheshire	$100/Sport	$500/Family	$100 for hockey	15%
Colchester	$150/Team	$450/Student or family	None	N/A
Coventry	$25/Sport	None	None	N/A
Darien	$100/Year	None	None	N/A
E. Granby	$100/Year	$150/Family	None	N/A
E. Hampton	$150/Sport	$450/Family	None	N/A
E. Windsor	$100/Sport	None	None	N/A
Enfield	$100/Sport	$200/Student $400/family	$500 for hockey, $100 for golf	N/A
Farmington	$100/Sport	$400/Family	None	N/A
Granby	$75/Sport	$150/student $300/family	None	N/A
Killingly	$100/Sport	$100/Family	None	N/A
Ledyard	$100/Sport	$200/Student $400/family	None	N/A
Madison	$75/Sport	$450/Family	None	N/A
Milford	$850/Hockey	None	N/A	10%
Monroe	$250/Team	$1000/Family	None	N/A
Naugatuck	$50/Sport	$200/Student	None	N/A
New Fairfield	$100/Sport	None	None	N/A
New Milford	$75/Year	None	$375 for hockey, $100 for golf	N/A
Newington	$75/Sport	$150/Student	None	N/A
Newtown	$100-$200/Sport	$450/Family	None	N/A
Oxford	$75/Sport	$150/Student $300/family	None	N/A
Region 08	$185 /Year	$185/Student	None	N/A
Region 10	$200 - $300 / Football	450/Family	N/A	N/A
Region 13	$40/Year	None	None	N/A
Region 15	$100/Sport	$400/Family	None	N/A
Ridgefield	$225/Sport	None	None	N/A
S. Windsor	$125/Sport	$500/Family ($800/Family for hockey)	$275 for hockey	N/A
Shelton	$100- $300/Sport	None	None	N/A
Simsbury	$175/Sport	$700/Family	$200 for hockey and swimming	50%
Somers	$50/Sport	$200/Family	None	N/A
Stafford	$50/Sport	None	None	N/A
Thomaston	$50/Sport	None	None	N/A
Tolland	$275/Sport	None	None	N/A
Trumbull	$250/Sport	$750/Family ($900/Family for hockey)	$250 for hockey	N/A
Wallingford	$100/Sport	$200/Student $300/family	None	N/A
Watertown	$110/Sport	No cap	None	N/A
W. Hartford	$125/Sport	$375/Family	None	N/A
Weston	$75/Sport	$300/Family	None	25%
Wethersfield	$60-90/Sport $400/Hockey	$200/Student $350/family	None	N/A
Wilton	$50/Year	None	None	N/A

Source: High school and board of education websites and staff

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