Houston ISD: Unauthorized late pick-up fees at elementary school discontinued

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) confirms with FOX 26 that it has discontinued an unapproved policy at Herrera Elementary School that charged parents $1 per minute for late student pickups.

An HISD spokesperson stated, "HISD is aware that families at Herrera Elementary School were charged fees for late student pick-up. This is not an approved Houston ISD policy. The practice has been discontinued, and the district is taking corrective action.

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Houston ISD parents charged late school pick-up fees

What we know:

On Jan. 14, parents at Herrera Elementary School reported exclusively to FOX 26 that they were charged $1 per minute per child for pickups after 3:30 p.m. 

Lydia Alaniz showed us documents from the school where she was charged $62 for picking up two children 31 minutes late. Alaniz expressed concerns that the school's pickup line often made it challenging for parents to collect their children before 3:30 p.m.

Copy of late fee document given to a parent at Herrera Elementary School after picking their child up late.

"There are a lot of families in that area that are picking children up from different schools, and they may all get out around the same time," Alaniz said in her previous interview. "And what's happening with the money? Why do they only accept cash and money orders?" she asked.

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Hector Mireles, president of Texas Support Personnel Employees Local 1, questioned the legitimacy of the policy, stating that any assessment of fines must be approved by the HISD board, which he believed had not occurred.

What's next:

FOX 26 has received confirmation from the district that parents who were charged the late fees can expect a refund.

The Source: Information from this article was obtained from Houston Independent School District and Houston ISD parents.

Houston ISDEducation