Volume 27 | Issue 2 Winter 2016


When the Tuition Bill Goes Unpaid Deciphering When Parents Have to Pay Tuition—and When the School Has to Give It Back


Philip Scott, Esq.


The legal cornerstone of each family and school partnership begins with the enrollment agreement. This contractual relationship will be viewed like nearly any other service contract anyone might enter into, from lawn service to tax preparation. In the Christian school context, the parents are promising to pay tuition dollars in return for an education for their child. The proof of the bargain is the tuition dollars paid on one side and the transcripts and testing scores on the other. Failing to provide one or both usually indicates someone has breached the contract.


The scenario usually falls apart somewhere along these lines. Parents sign an agreement promising to pay for a full year’s tuition, but might withdraw their child before the school year has run its course (or even before the school year starts), or their child may be expelled. The agreement says the parents will pay for the full year regardless of withdrawal or expulsion. Do the parents have to pay for the outstanding tuition even though their child is no longer attending? Generally, they do—if the enrollment agreement specifi es that tuition is owed regardless of the reason for their nonattendance. They will have breached the contract by not fully paying the agreed- upon tuition, even though their child will not get the full benefi t of the agreement.


There are a handful of arguments that can be made as a defense or counter-claim to a contract breach. For current purposes, the more technical issues will be ignored for the most common issues parents lob at schools. A fi nal note: contract law is inherently a state law issue, so each state may have its own quirks and oddities. The information shared below is the starting basis for common law (court-made law) in each state.


Contract law is inherently a state law issue, so each state may have its own quirks and oddities.


Docket Press Release


What Parents Want in a Christian School 28 DOL Overtime Pay Requirements on Hold 28 Cultural Shift Resources and Presentation 28 Eight More States Legalize Marijuana 28 DOL’s Updated Requirements 28


Anonymous Tips Non-Regulatory Equitable Service Guidance 29


Title II, Part A Non-Regulatory Guidance Published 29 New ESSA Guidance on Student Support 29 Boards and State Law Requirements 30


Choices ACSI’s Scholarship Granting Efforts 30


Challenge to FL Tax Credit Scholarship Program Fails 30 Ed Choice—2016 Schooling in America Survey 31 Nevada’s Education Savings Account Program 31


At Issue Child-on-Child Sexual Abuse 31


Avoid Uber-Liability by Restricting Ridesharing 32 Religious Liberty—Where Does America Stand? 33 Protecting Against the Dangers of Playtime 36 Charitable Giving Reaches $373.25 Billion in 2015 37 Early Education in the National Spotlight 38


Association of Christian Schools International | www.acsi.org In & Out of Committee


Fall ACSI National Legislative Conference 39 Jury Box/The Verdict 40/47 Toeing the Line


New Accounting Standards for Not-for-Profi t Entities 42 Before the Bench


The Ministerial Exception: A Tool to Wield Cautiously 43 National Notes 45 Closing Arguments


Mediation Clauses in Enrollment Contracts 48

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