When I lived in Texas (up to 2014), my school held student report cards for nonpayment of lost/damaged library books and unpaid cafeteria charges. I had to turn in a list of students who had not paid for lost or damaged library books, and the report cards were not mailed with the rest of the student report cards in the first week of summer. Instead, if parents wanted the report card, they had to come to the school to pick it up in the office, where they were informed of the fine. They could choose to return the book (undamaged) or pay the replacement cost. We did get many fines paid and books returned this way, but there were always some report cards left over when we returned to school in August. Parents could, after all, see all their students' grades in the online gradebook anyway. I have heard differing opinions on whether or not it is legal for schools to withhold report cards for nonpayment of fines, so I decided to do a little fancy Googling and find out for myself if this practice is, in fact, legal. Read more...Read more »