Fining students for untied shoelaces: Harassment or discipline?

An overachieving Chicago charter-school network makes kids pay, literally, for breaking even the smallest of rules

School kids
(Image credit: CORBIS)

Ten charter high schools in Chicago have come up with a novel — and controversial — way to raise extra cash. The Noble Network of Charter Schools is now imposing fines on students who repeatedly break campus rules. Administrators at the network's schools, which Mayor Rahm Emanuel has praised as models of academic excellence, seem thrilled about the windfall, but parents aren't quite so happy. Here's what you should know:

How do the fines work?

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