Policy 2.16

Fund-Raising Activities Relating to Schools

1. All fund-raising projects and activities by school or groups within the school shall contribute to the educational and extracurricular experiences of the students and shall not be in conflict with the overall instructional program. If there is a tragedy within the school community, however, the school may sponsor a fundraiser or solicit funds to benefit the victim or the victim(s) or the victim's family. The determination of fund-raising projects and activities for a school shall be the responsibility of the principal and instructional staff.

2. Fund-raising activities and projects within all schools shall be kept within a reasonable limit. The principal shall approve in writing all fund-raising activities in the school in accordance with established procedures, including completing PBSD form 0153 that is incorporated herein by reference and can be found on the District's forms web site. Each school shall continuously evaluate its fund-raising projects and extracurricular activities as they relate to the promotion of educational experiences, the time involved for students and teachers, and the additional demands made on the school community.

3. Except as stated within Paragraphs 1 and 6 of this Policy, solicitation of funds that call upon students to give money without receiving a product or service are prohibited in schools. However, product collections for charitable causes (i.e. used toys, canned goods, etc.), such as for victims of natural disasters or to support U.S. troops, may be solicited.

4. Because of possible safety hazards to the individual student involved in such fund solicitation, the following standards shall be observed:

   1. Sale of magazines shall be permitted by all students. However, door-to-door solicitation shall be prohibited for all students as to all fund and product solicitations.

   2. Participants in school approved candy sales, car washes and similar fund-raising activities are prohibited from standing in roadways and/or medians of roadways.

   3. Due to the inherent dangers posed by mechanical rides, no school or school organization is permitted to allow any mechanical rides on School District property or at any school sponsored activity for any activities whatsoever.

   4. Certain school sponsored fund-raising events may be of an unusual nature that expose the School Board to a potential extraordinary liability or that involve large numbers of participants and/or spectators, and raise significant funds well above the cost of insurance coverage.

      1. To determine whether an event meets this standard, the school should refer to the Risk & Benefits Department Bulletin (currently P-12791-COO/ERBM dated May 9, 2008) regarding Vendors Liability Insurance Requirements for the Community Use of School Facilities and its attached Extension Rate Schedule. This bulletin may be found at: Risk Management & Safety. An event meets this standard if it has an expected number of attendees in excess of 3,000 people, is classified within the attached schedule to the bulletin as high hazard, or does not appear as an event within the attached schedule to the bulletin.

      2. The sponsoring school of this type of school sponsored fundraising event will purchase sufficient liability insurance coverage to protect the District from potential claims at these events. The individual school will contact the District's Risk & Benefits Management Department for assistance and approval for this insurance.

   5. If an outside individual or organization, such as the PTA, is conducting a fundraising activity on school grounds, the individual or organization shall purchase sufficient liability insurance coverage per the most recent Risk & Benefits Department Bulletin to protect the District from potential claims, as required under School Board Policy 7.18.

5. Principals have the right to prohibit any organization from directly soliciting from students in the school during instructional time. However, nothing in this policy prohibits students from fund-raising as individuals or as part of extracurricular groups or student clubs, as long as such activities are conducted outside school hours and with the prior approval of the principal. Participation in such activities shall be on a voluntary basis, and no student shall be compelled to make a purchase or contribution.

6. Students may participate in charitable fund-raising drives as individuals or as part of extracurricular groups. However, such activities must be conducted outside the academic day and must be approved in advance by the principal. Participation in such activities shall be on a voluntary basis, and no student shall be compelled to make a contribution.

7. Money derived from any school fund-raising project or activity shall be deposited in the school's internal funds account and shall be disbursed as prescribed by district guidelines within the District's Internal Accounts Manual, district policy on internal accounts (Policy 6.07), and State Board of Education Rules 6A-1.001, District Financial Records, Financial and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting for Florida Schools, (Redbook 2001), 6A-1.085, Basic Principles of Internal Fund Accounting, and 6A-1.0143, Promotion and Public Relations Funding.

   1. Merchandising projects shall be kept to a minimum.

   2. Schools are discouraged from using instructional time to plan, promote or execute fund-raising projects unless the project directly relates to a planned curriculum component.

8. At the school level, a parent-teacher association or other community or school related organization may sponsor fund-raising projects and activities provided school work and instructional time are not negatively impacted. Such activities shall be conducted in accordance with district policy and shall be approved by the principal.

9. The board encourages schools that are able to raise considerable amounts of money to adopt schools who do not have that capability and share such resources.

10. Gambling in violation of § 849.04, Fla. Stat. shall be prohibited.

11. Schools may not have drawings of chance; however, organizations qualified under 26 U. S.C. § 501(c)(3), (4), (7), (8), (10), or (19) are authorized to conduct raffles or drawings by chance pursuant to § 849.0935, Fla. Stat. provided the organization has complied with all provisions of Ch. 496, Fla. Stat..

12. It is unlawful for any organization that is authorized to conduct a drawing by chance to require an entry fee donation, substantial consideration, payment, proof of purchase, or contribution as a condition of either entering the drawing or being selected to win a prize.

13. The organization distributing the raffle tickets may not require a contribution or donation in order to participate in the raffle; nor may it arbitrarily disqualify or reject any entry or discriminate in any manner between entrants who contribute to the organization and those who do not.

14. It is also unlawful to fail to notify the person whose entry is selected to win that they have won, or fail to award the prizes in the manner and at the time stated.

15. If a raffle or drawing by chance is held, all brochures, advertisements, notices, tickets, or entry blanks used for such drawings must conspicuously disclose:

    1. The rules governing the conduct and operation of the drawing.

    2. The full name of the organization or operator, and its principal place of business;

    3. The source of the funds used to award cash prizes or to purchase proxies, and;

    4. The date, hour, and place where the winner will be chosen, unless the brochures, advertisements, notices, tickets, or entry blanks are not offered to the public more than three (3) days prior to a drawing.

    5. That no purchase or contribution is necessary, which means that the organization cannot require an entry fee, donation, substantial consideration, payment, proof of purchase, or contribution as a condition of entering the drawing or of being selected to win a prize. However, this provision shall not prohibit an organization from suggesting a minimum donation or from including a statement of such suggested minimum donation on any printed material utilized in connection with the fundraising event or drawing.