FCPS School Board Votes to Refund AP Fees

The Fairfax County School Board has voted to refund approximately $2 million in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) test fees collected from families. 

The action is in response to a January 28 opinion by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, arguing that charging students to take a mandatory exam if enrolled in the course was illegal. Superintendent Jack Dale for a refund last week.

The School Board adopted a $75 per test fee for the FY 2011 budget to try to increase revenues in a third consecutive year requiring budget cuts.

FCPS said in a news release, "Since exam fees will be paid by FCPS, students currently enrolled in an AP or IB course are still required to take the AP or IB exam related to that course. Refund notifications will be mailed in early April to parents and guardians who have already made payments and all refunds are scheduled to be processed by the end of April."

Updated: 5:40 pm

"There really was no better option, given where we're at [in the semester]," said Mount Vernon School Board representative Daniel Storck. "It's going to be pretty cumbersome to return the fees, but I support the decision."

Last month the school board adopted , which included $48.8 million dollars more in revenue from Fairfax County, than it received last year. The school board will present its budget to the Board Of Supervisors on March 29th.

"It's always a question of priorities," said Storck of the budget item. "Hopefully, we'll get the requested funds from the supervisors. But the questions remain: do we keep the athletic fee? Do we get rid of the requirement [for students to take the exams]? There are tradeoffs that will need to be made."

During the 2011 fiscal year, students were charged $75 for each Advanced Placement course they took to increase revenue after three years of budget cuts. General Ken Cuccinelli could not be reached for comment.

Erica Hendry contributed reporting.