We all have the right to a free public education whether we can buy supplies or not. Anything required, must be covered by school districts by law.

Steve Cordell of Omaha has no problem buying his 9th and 10th graders’ supplies. And he bought more than they needed. ”I know not everybody can afford the supplies, and then they have to make choices between school supplies and something else. So, I don't mind giving a little bit more," he said.

To minimize the financial impact on families, the Papillion-LaVista school district asks teachers to closely scrutinize their “recommended” supply lists. "The intent is really to reduce what you're asking families to provide for school,” said Assistant Superintendent Doug Lewis, “and to be able to provide those within the building."

To make sure supplies are covered, the district budgets for them. Lewis said charitable organizations and parent-teacher groups often pitch in.

But, O.P.S. teacher Amanda Davis is among the many educators who also buy supplies for students, out of their own pockets. It’s not a requirement, just something she wants to do for the kids she works with. And she goes further than what’s needed at school.

“A lot of times,” she said, “you’ll have kids in your class that don’t have a lot of supplies to take home for at-home projects. So, it’s nice to have those reserves on-hand to send with them.”

Davis works at a restaurant to supplement her modest teaching income, and she’s got a daughter starting kindergarten next month. So, she’s been taking advantage of back-to-school sales.

“Got the clothes, and of course nothing's on sale when you need it to be. Did the backpacks and everything. Just trying to watch sales to get the best deals, because it does get expensive."

She laughed, "I didn't go into teaching for the money."

She added, she just wants "to do everything possible to take care of these kids so they have the best life possible going on from here. That's why I'm in it."

Lewis said the right to a free education goes further than supplies, to fees. However, in order to qualify families must fill out free and reduced lunch program forms. “What we see at the elementary level though the high school level,” he said, “is that the number of people who actually fill out the free and reduced lunch forms decreases, as well as the number that then ask for the waivers.”

He can’t explain why that happens, but wants to stress the importance of filling out those forms every year, for families in need. And, he said, beyond filling out the forms, parents also need to “check” the box that grants permission for the information to be shared with school officials. That enables the district to plan for any added expenses to their budget.