Still not free

The Indiana constitution's guarantee of a free public education isn't really being met, and that lack will become more and more pronounced as new technologies become increasingly available and seen as necessary. It's not just books anymore but things like computers:

The Evansville Vanderburgh School Board voted Monday to set a $35-per-semester rental fee for the Hewlett Packard netbook computers that students at Bosse, Central, Harrison, North and Reitz high schools will receive in the upcoming school year.

Policies governing the laptops will be identical to those of textbooks, said Mike Russ, technology director for the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp.

It's not the $35-a-semester rental fee that's the biggest economic worry for parents. Those "policies identical to those of textbooks" include students being held responsible for damages and losses. There's a big difference between losing a $30 textbook and dropping a $460 netbook. And why are they paying that much anyway? You can get netbooks online for between $300 and $400 even without any bulk buying. And the school system says students who already have laptops can't use those because all the school system's laptops "will be connected to the corporation's network." Software that can't handle the hardware? Don't get it.