Roughly 55 Bend kindergartners may find their schooling at risk under a recent opinion issued by the Oregon Legislature’s legal counsel. According to a letter dated Nov. 30, counsel said Oregon law does not allow public schools to charge tuition for any type of kindergarten program.

Bend-La Pine Schools currently offers tuition-based, all-day kindergarten programs at Highland and High Lakes elementary schools, according to Pat Echanis, director of elementary programs.

“(The opinion) has some real implications for our students, staff and parents in our two programs,” he said.

Echanis added that he would need to learn more about the opinion before he could say what the impact might be.

The Oregon Department of Education released a statement Friday that said it is seeking clarification on the law from the Oregon Department of Justice.

Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Doug Nelson said he knew that a question had been raised about tuition-based kindergarten, but hadn’t heard about the opinion as of Friday evening.

He said tuition-based kindergarten has been offered for roughly five years at High Lakes, and was expanded to Highland several years ago. Parents at both schools still have the option of enrolling their children in the half-day program.

Echanis said that the state funds half-day kindergarten programs, and tuition makes it possible to sustain a full-day program.

“It’s necessary to pay for mainly the instructors, and it also helps pay for educational-assistant help,” he said.

Tuition costs roughly $1,800 per year, but families who qualify can pay on a sliding scale.

Although the opinion recognizes the difficulty of offering a full-day program with essentially half the resources, it says the law prohibits any sort of fee.

The opinion states, in part, “The restrictions on charging tuition … apply to every kindergarten program, regardless of the length of the program or any gaps in funding based on a district school board’s decision to offer an extended program. As a result, the district school board must otherwise absorb the costs of the extended program.”

The opinion should not affect full-day kindergarten programs that are offered at no cost at a handful of other schools in the Bend-La Pine district.

Those are supported by federal Title I funds, which are directed to schools that have a high number of low-income students.

The Crook County School District, which made a district-wide switch to all-day kindergarten roughly five years ago, will also likely remain unaffected because its program is free.

Information about kindergarten programs in Redmond and Jefferson County was unavailable Friday night.

But Echanis said the opinion could affect several programs around the state.

“I know that they exist in quite a few different communities in our state,” he said.

Echanis wouldn’t speculate on what would happen to the tuition-based kindergarten program, but said it is popular among parents in the Bend-La Pine attendance area.

“We feel strongly that these are options we want to provide for the students, staff and parents at Highland and High Lakes,” he said.