Do foreign exchange students need to pay to attend public school in the US?

Question

I am the founder of a new exchange program which selects underpriviliged youth from Africa to attend shcool in the US for one year. I cannot seem to get a straight answer from anyone about this topic. Please visit our website for more info on our program: futureleadersofghana.org

Answer 1

If they're on a one-year student visa (which you do have to pay for), then no, they do not have to pay to attend a public school in the U.S.

Go to www.uscis.gov.

Answer 2

You should contact some public schools and ask them about this issue. Because public schools are funded through taxes, there may be some regulations about exchange students - in some cases, exchange organizations pay certain fees, in other cases, they donate scholarships to public schools so that their students can also study abroad. The public schools around your area should be able to give you a straight answer about this or direct you in the right direction.

Good luck!

Answer 3

public schools are free

hope I helped!

Answer 4

No. They do not.

However, most high schools will not accept a student from a program not affiliated with CSIET (Council  on  Standards  for  International  Educational  Travel). You can find that at www.csiet.org. You will need to follow the extensive rules of this organization to first become provisionally certified and then permanently certified.

Since you are just operating out of Africa, you may need to partner with an organization in the U.S. in order to bring students over.

In general, host families in the U.S. expect to cover room and board expenses for the students. However, the student should be prepared to pay for all school fees (NOT tuition, but book rentals, lab fees, clothing needs, etc). Your student will also need to be fully insured. According to CSIET AND U.S. state department rules, your student must have a representative from your organization  no further than 120 miles away from the placement.

Hope that was helpful!

EDIT: I just looked at your site. You should also be aware that students need to be between 15 and 18 1/2.