*Alexa Thomas
I. Introduction
Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer,[1] allows users to create registries (or “wish lists”) of items.[2] Many teachers create wish lists to encourage in-kind donations for their classrooms.[3] Amazon actively supports the viral classroom wish list trend by marketing the #clearthelist movement, a campaign to help teachers access important classroom supplies.[4] In response to the increasing efforts to stock local classrooms through small-donor crowdfunding efforts, many school systems now implement digital crowdfunding policies.[5]
In Maryland, the school systems have implemented digital crowdfunding policies that restrict teachers from soliciting donations through Amazon wish lists, permit schools to retain full ownership of such donations, and allow donations to be reallocated for purposes unknown to donors.[6] While crowdfunding restrictions are often based on rational considerations,[7] the implications of the new policies could weaken the classroom micro-giving movement.[8]
II. Maryland Schools’ Crowdfunding & Solicitation Policies
Article 8, Section 1 of the Maryland Constitution requires the State to provide a thorough and efficient system of public education and the funds to maintain it.[9] In fulfilling that mandate, the Maryland state legislature grants authority to local school systems to set policies within their local jurisdictions.[10] In many Maryland school systems, boards of education use their authority to create policies restricting solicitation of donations, including restrictions on donations received through digital crowdfunding platforms.[11]
Some school systems ban crowdfunded donations altogether.[12] For example, Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS) recognizes the benefit of such sites; however, CCPS believes “the risks” and “potential liabilities” outweigh the benefits, and therefore prohibits individual teachers from using wish lists.[13]
Meanwhile, other Maryland school systems heavily regulate teachers’ crowdfunding donation efforts.[14] Harford County Public Schools (HCPS) defines “crowdfunding” as “any internet-based connection utilized to raise funds or obtain donations of materials or other items for a specific purpose,” such as GoFundMe or Adopt-A-Classroom.[15] While HCPS allows employees to solicit crowdfunding donations, they may only do so with permission and with the understanding that all donations will become property of the school system.[16]
On Somerset County Public Schools’ (SCPS) crowdfunding authorization form, the school system specifically authorizes teachers to use Amazon wish lists, but like many systems, affirms that all donations received through wish lists become property of SCPS.[17]
Howard County Public Schools’ (HCPSS) policy considers crowdfunding to be a type of donation campaign,[18] and states that donations, even if originally intended by donors for one purpose, can be used for “other school educational needs” at the school’s discretion.[19]
III. Crowdfunding Policies & Their Possible Effect on Classroom Giving
Teachers have every reason to jump at the opportunity to crowdfund supplies and learning materials for their classrooms—teachers spent an average of $610 of their own money buying school supplies during the 2023–2024 school year.[20] Given each individual school system’s unique policies and practices regarding this method of fundraising,[21] and because some teachers choose to crowdsource donations against their school system’s policies,[22] confusion about the practice of crowdfunding among both teachers and community members persists.[23]
Donation transparency is paramount to donors—a research study found that 50% of adults feel put-off from donating when they do not know exactly how their donation will be used.[24] The same deterring effect persists even when relatively small donation amounts are at stake; therefore, the lack of transparency from schools regarding policies affecting #clearthelist movement donations could be detrimental to teachers in the digital era of classroom giving.[25]
Members of a local community often make donations believing the teacher will decide how to best use donations for their classroom.[26] Without more transparency around the power school systems have to retain and redistribute donations, micro-donors may become distrustful and reluctant to donate materials to classrooms through small donor crowdfunding campaigns, fearing that schools will reallocate resources for purposes they never anticipated nor approved of.[27] Thus, while classrooms are often underfunded and under-resourced,[28] the wish list—an innovative and affordable means for communities to invest in their local schools and ensure students are equipped with the learning materials they need—could be short-lived.[29]
IV. Conclusion
In recent years, the Amazon classroom wish list trend has been met by school systems with a diverse array of policies that often allow school systems to own, use, and redistribute donations without input from their donors.[30] These policies may not be at the forefront of the minds of the donors who purchase items through Amazon wish lists.[31] The restrictive policies may discourage donors from contributing materials to classrooms in need.[32]
*Alexa Thomas is a second-year student at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she is a Staff Editor for Volume 54 of University of Baltimore Law Review, Legal Writing Fellow, Distinguished Scholar of the Royal Graham Shannonhouse III Honor Society, Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Advocacy, and competing member of the University of Baltimore Trial Team. Prior to law school, Alexa received her degree in Legal Studies from Stevenson University and gained experience in education law and policy. Alexa is excited to be joining McGuireWoods, LLP as a Summer Associate in 2025 in their Baltimore office.
[1] Farnia Ghavami, Amazon Ecommerce Facts & Statistics, Digit. Com. 360, https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/amazon-ecommerce-facts-and-statistics (last updated Jan. 2025).
[2] See generally Registry & Gifting, Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/registries (last visited Feb. 13, 2025).
[3] See Support Teachers and Clear the List!, Get Your Teach On (last visited Feb. 13, 2025), https://www.getyourteachon.com/clearthelist (“[M]ore than 68,000 wish lists were shared on our website as of October 2024!”).
[4] Amazon Staff, Amazon ”Clears The List” for Hundreds of Teachers in the U.S., Amazon (Aug. 9, 2021), https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/community/amazon-clears-the-list-for-hundreds-of-teachers-in-the-u-s.
[5] See Erin McCarthy & Kristen A. Graham, Philly-area Teachers are Counting on Amazon Wishlists and Crowdfunding for Classroom Supplies, The Phila. Inquirer (Sept. 23, 2024, 5:00 AM), https://www.inquirer.com/education/teachers-wishlists-crowdfunding-school-supplies-20240923.html (noting that several teachers who created wish lists preferred not to have the name of their school published due to their administrations’ policies).
[6] See infra Part II.
[7] See Policy 4010 – Donations, Howard Cnty. Pub. Sch., https://policy.hcpss.org/4000/4010/ (last modified Feb. 11, 2021) (“The Board of Education recognizes, accepts, and appreciates the sovereignty of individuals, organizations, and corporations and their ability to conduct donations and donation campaigns independently. The Board also recognizes its need to ensure the appropriateness of the donations accepted.”).
[8] See infra Part III.
[9] Md. Const. Art. VIII, § 1.
[10] Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 4-108 (West 2024).
[11] See infra notes 12–19 and accompanying text.
[12] See infra note 13 and accompanying text.
[13] Grants and Funding, Carroll Cnty. Pub. Sch., https://www.carrollk12.org/operation/financial-services/grants-and-funding (last visited Oct. 21, 2024) (click “Process” then “Crowdfunding” from dropdown). It’s worth noting that while CCPS states that it believes “the risks outweigh the benefits,” it fails to identify the issues or potential liabilities of these platforms for its website visitors.
[14] See infra notes 15–19 and accompanying text.
[15] Crowdfunding Procedure, Harford Cnty. Pub. Sch. (Jan. 16, 2020), https://hcps.org/webfiles/WebFilesHandler.ashx?id=5701.
[16] Id.
[17] Crowdfunding Authorization Form, Somerset Cnty. Pub. Sch., https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/3497/SCPS/2720271/200-15_Administrative_Procedures_Crowdfunding.pdf.
[18] Policy 4010 – Donations, Howard Cnty. Pub. Sch., https://policy.hcpss.org/4000/4010/ (last modified Feb. 11, 2021).
[19] Id.
[20] See Geoff Williams, This Is How Much It Costs Teachers to Get School Supplies in 2024, U.S. News & World Rep. (Sept. 4, 2024, 10:34 AM), https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/spending/articles/this-is-how-much-it-costs-teachers-to-get-school-supplies.
[21] See supra Part II.
[22] See Support Teachers and Clear the List!, Get Your Teach On (last visited Feb. 13, 2025), https://www.getyourteachon.com/clearthelist (click “Find a List to Support”) (showing over 190 Maryland teachers’ lists on this site alone, some of which are in school systems where crowdfunding donations are prohibited).
[23] See generally Suitable-Part7444, Amazon wish lists are soliciting?, Reddit (July 2024), https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/1e48lue/amazon_wish_lists_are_soliciting/ (containing eighty comments responding to a post about an Amazon wish list prohibition in a school district, showing the overall confusion about whether teachers are allowed create Amazon wish lists).
[24] What Donors Want—but Often Don’t Get, The Chron. of Philanthropy (Mar. 1, 2012), https://www.philanthropy.com/article/what-donors-want-but-often-dont-get.
[25] See id.
[26] See Amazon Staff, supra note 4 (“By purchasing items from hundreds of teachers’ Wish Lists this back-to-school season, Amazon is working to ensure teachers can fill their classrooms with the items they need”); see also Support Teachers and Clear the List!, Get Your Teach On (last visited Feb. 13, 2025), https://www.getyourteachon.com/clearthelist (“Through this platform, countless teachers have had their classrooms stocked by friends, families, and complete strangers looking to make a difference.”).
[27] See supra notes 15–19 and accompanying text.
[28] See TCF Study Finds U.S. Schools Underfunded by Nearly $150 Billion Annually, The Century Found. (July 22, 2020), https://tcf.org/content/about-tcf/tcf-study-finds-u-s-schools-underfunded-nearly-150-billion-annually/.
[29] See supra Part III.
[30] See supra Part II.
[31] See supra Part III.
[32] See supra Part III.
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