Public School Fundraisers: The Legal Obstacles and Protections for School Officials

In the world of public school finance, fewer resources are being allocated to curricular activities, let alone cocurricular activities. To help ameliorate budgets for clubs, athletic teams, and other groups, students with the guidance of school officials conduct fundraisers. Many of these fundraisers were once perceived as innocuous with opportunities to build group or team spirit. However, current legal paradigms make conducting fundraisers much more nebulous, increasing liability for school officials. This article serves three purposes: (a) it articulates legal philosophies that must be adhered to in order to avoid negligence or constitutional violations, (b) it identifies several, typical fundraising activities and the legal framework that guides them and opportunities to avoid pitfalls, and (c) a compendium is provided with each section and a discussion section, which synthesizes the various legal frameworks into a general paradigm by which practicing administrators can implement in order to avoid violations and/or liability.