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A group of parents has lobbied the County Council, state lawmakers and the Maryland Department of Education to get the fees waived. And even though some project or laboratory fees may be charged, students can participate in the class if they can't pay the money, school leaders contend.

"The school fees are absolutely illegal," said Louis Wilen, whose children — one a junior and a senior — attend Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Rockville. "Thousands of students in Montgomery County are going to come home with fee lists. The superintendent really needs to step up to the plate and abolish the fees, because they're not legal."

Wilen has paid $5 to $40 in fees for nine classes, ranging from art and English to SAT prep and physical education. The school system has a regulation in place, allowing schools to charge students for project materials in certain classes.

But in an Aug. 18 letter, Elizabeth M. Kameen, lead counsel for the state Department of Education, cited a 1987 opinion from

then-Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr.

" … We are safe in saying that anything directly related to a school's curriculum must be available to all without charge," Curran wrote.

The next day, school leaders stood by their decision to charge for curricular fees.

"You may be contacted by persons who challenge or contradict our policy of curricular expenses for student fees," chief school performance officer Stephen L. Bedford wrote in an Aug. 19 memo to principals. "There may be individuals or organizations who attempt to tell you that no fees may be charged. This is their interpretation of the law."

Kameen's letter, obtained by The Gazette, was also sent to county Schools Superintendent Jerry D. Weast and state Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick, among others.

"Thousands of parents don't know they aren't supposed to pay these fees," Wilen said. "We hope that Dr. Weast and the school board will do the right thing."

A school board policy, last updated in 2003, gives schools the autonomy to ask students to buy supplemental materials for class, such as workbooks and review guides, for example. Students are given access to the supplemental materials if they can't pay for them, according to the policy. The school system adopted a similar regulation on course fees.

"When we developed the policy, we were very careful to make sure no child was being denied access," said school board member Sharon W. Cox (At-large) of Germantown, chairwoman of the policy committee. "Obviously, we've had this policy in place for five years now. It's never been challenged in court. We think we're in compliance with the law."

There is "confusion" over the policy's enforcement, Cox said Monday. For instance, a student who needs a workbook and agrees not to write in it should not be charged, she said. Any student who needs to write in the workbook has to pay for it.

During a recent school board meeting, parent Rosanne A. Hurwitz asked the school system to refund $8 in fees for towels charged to her son, who attends Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring.

"Failure to pay this fee results in a financial obligation and students who do not pay this fee cannot participate in certain school activities, including graduation," Hurwitz told the board. "While the Attorney General suggests parents appeal to the board, it is unconscionable to expect the families of our county to go through this process to obtain what is clearly their right."

Some schools are projected to charge more than others, according to school system documents.

Clarksburg High School expects to charges its students a whopping 220 fees, including $20 for calculators; $87 for food, uniform, and exam in a restaurant management class; and $15 for uniforms and transportation for chorus, among other things.

"I was surprised when I read and heard that Clarksburg had the highest fees in the county," said Terry Straus, immediate past president of Clarksburg High School's PTSA.

His daughter is now a senior at the school. Over the years, Straus has paid fees for art and foreign language classes. Clarksburg "is a new school," he said, so the charges may be used to pay for the equipment being used.

"I haven't seen or heard any parent, in my two years as PTSA president, saying they couldn't afford it," Straus said.

At John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, its administration will only charge students for 16 fees, including $25 for photography and cooking supplies; and $35 for food and chef's uniform in an international cuisine class.

"To me, it's a non-issue so far," said George Fountain Jr., president of John F. Kennedy PTSA, who added that he has gotten "no complaints" from parents about the fees.

Though students are not denied access to classes, the school board's policy is still illegal, said parent Janis Sartucci, an outspoken critic of the school system's curricular fees.

"Where's the money go?" Sartucci asked. "If this money is required to run the school system, why don't we see it? If we are a revenue source for the school system, we should be in the budget documents, but we're not."

The County Council of PTAs will discuss the fee concerns with school PTAs for feedback and "guidance," Kay Romero, president of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs, wrote in an e-mail.

"MCPS should clarify exactly what fees are required and what are optional. Parents should be able to see that on a quick read of all school lists of supplies and fees," she wrote. "For MCPS to indicate that a parent can notify the school of a hardship in paying student curricular fees is putting the requirement on a parent who still may not know what fees are required and what fees are optional."