School raffle rules revised

From the NY Times:

At a time when New York City schools are struggling with budget cuts, the Department of Education proposed a regulation this month that would ban parent-teacher associations from holding raffles, a mainstay of fund-raising — especially after the city effectively banned PTA bake sales in June.

On Wednesday, however, education officials said that Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein had not known about the proposed raffle ban before it was published, and that he had decided to rescind it.

The department also said it was considering whether to ease the ban on PTA bake sales during the school day, to make it easier for parent groups to raise money, which they use to plug budget gaps in school programs.

While the rationale for the ban on bake sales was student health, the raffle ban was judged to be a potential legal liability. Raffles can be considered a form of gambling under state laws, and holding one without following a complex array of rules could result in a misdemeanor.

Because of legal concerns, the city’s Office of Family Engagement and Advocacy, which regulates parent groups, used to say no to PTA’s that asked to hold raffles, even though some schools had raffles without asking permission. There was no official ban.