The ability of students to raise funds for charitable purposes is clarified and expanded. Associated student bodies, among other things, provide optional non-credit extracurricular activities of a cultural, social, recreational, or athletic nature. Associated student body activities generally are funded by fees or student fundraisers. Article 8, section 7 of the state constitution prohibits local public agencies, such as school districts, from making gifts of public funds except to aid the poor or infirm. Donations may be used by the associated student body for scholarship, student exchange, and charitable and other purposes.
Donations typically mean gifts made without receiving any compensation.
Students may raise private funds, called nonassociated student body program funds, for private purposes that can be held in trust in an associated student body program fund. The school district must be compensated for the cost of administering the separate private account or accounts. Specific authorization for the associated student body program fund to use donations for scholarship, student exchange, charitable, and other purposes is removed. Subject to school board policy, student groups are authorized to conduct fund-raising activities as a private group to generate nonassociated student body funds. The student group raising the funds determines how the funds are used.