My sister's public middle school in Indiana has student book fees, and various fees for using mandatory assigned Chromebooks, some of which are refunded if it's returned in good order at the end of the year, some aren't.

If you are low-income, you can get the fees waived, and the majority of her school books are still free. But not all.

I see your point, but I think individual schools don't make the choice. This stuff is usually done at the school board level, or maybe even State level.

It's a giant racket too, perhaps even worse than the university-level racket: http://www.textbookleague.org/103feyn.htm