Associated Student Body (ASB)

The webpage for the FCMAT Associated Student Body Manual with links to: The current version of the FCMAT ASB Manual for TK-12 LEAs. The Club Advisor Handbook. The Student Club Handbook. Forms, checklists and other items found in the manual delivered in Microsoft Word format to download and modify for local school and district use. Example Allowable and Prohibited ASB Board Policies (Microsoft Excel file) Sample Administrative Regulation (AR) 3452 - Student Activity Funds

Anything purchased by a district, including the ASB, must be in compliance with the law and local board policy, and cannot be considered a gift of public funds. Purchases should be used to promote the students’ general welfare, morale and educational experiences. The purchases must also be for goods and services other than those the school entity should provide from its own funding sources. And, in general, the purchases should be for the benefit of student groups, and not individual students (for exclusions, please see the FCMAT ASB Manual, Chapter 14 – Allowable and Questionable Expenses. In middle schools, high schools and community colleges, the students should be the primary authority that decides how ASB funds are spent. FCMAT is often asked whether an item is an appropriate use of ASB funds. That means that a student must preapprove the expenditure, as well as two adults. Per Education Code, all three authorizers must be specific representatives of the school/ASB. The ASB Accounting Manual and Desk Reference contains a significant amount of guidance regarding sound district and ASB policy, specific rules related to ASB transactions, and guidance on allowable and prohibited purchases. However, there is no master list of ASB transactions and expenditures, and a determining factor is whether the type of activity is permitted in governing board policy and approved by the governing board. FCMAT recommends contacting the appropriate staff in the district business office for further guidance.

The governing board must authorize student body organizations to conduct fundraising activities. FCMAT’s ASB Manual contains guidance on issues school districts and governing boards may want to consider when approving fundraising activities. For further details, please see the FCMAT ASB Manual, Chapter 8 - Fundraising Events.

Gift cards are generally discouraged as an ASB purchase because internal controls for gift cards can be difficult to establish and maintain. As cash equivalents, gift cards can be challenging to track and control once purchased by, or donated to, the school district or ASB. Most issuing vendors treat gift cards no differently than cash purchases, with no identification, purchase authorization, or other control mechanism required. As such, without appropriate internal controls, gift cards can be stolen, used inappropriately or partially depleted without authorization or knowledge of the card holder. As a student award, Education Code Section 44015 states that before any student awards can be allowable, the governing board must adopt “rules and regulations” permitting awards to students. Such a policy should describe what types of awards are permitted, the specific criteria for receiving an award, the maximum award value, and so on. Note that any award granted under the provisions of this section shall not exceed $200 in value unless a larger award is expressly approved by the governing board. To provide a gift card as a student award, the district’s governing board policy should specifically state that gift cards are an allowable award. In these instances, ASB funds may be used to purchase gift cards if funds were raised specifically for this purpose through an appropriately approved fundraiser.

Yes. Editable Microsoft Word versions of forms, checklists and other items found in the FCMAT Associated Student Body Manual can be downloaded from the FCMAT website at: .

Donations to nonprofit organizations and students or families in need usually are not allowable because they are considered a gift of public funds, no matter how worthy the cause. In general, fundraising that occurs on campus should be for the benefit of the ASB and not for other organizations. However, a student group may organize a fundraiser to support an outside organization, such as a charity, as long as the fundraising event is clearly identified as raising funds to donate to that charity. Because of liability issues, all donations should be in the form of checks made payable to the charity and should be picked up by or delivered directly to the charity each day so that funds are not deposited in the ASB account or stored on campus.  If it is not possible to have the checks made directly to the outside organization and not stored on campus, open a trust account within the ASB specifically for these donations (with district governing board approval), then write a check to the organization in the amount raised when the fundraiser is over. It is crucial to ensure that the district’s governing board (not its designee) approves this fundraiser and that all paperwork associated with the fundraiser clearly documents that the only funds donated to the outside organization were those raised for that specific purpose. No funds from other clubs, inactive accounts, or fundraisers not approved by the governing board should be donated to outside organizations, because they were not raised for that specific purpose. Another viable option is to work with a parent group that has its own tax identification number and sufficient internal controls and ask them to operate the fundraiser, because groups such as this are not subject to the rules regarding gifts of public funds. For further information, please see the FCMAT ASB Manual, Chapter 14 – Allowable and Questionable Expenses, Donations.