FIELD AND OTHER DISTRICT-SPONSORED TRIPS | Policy Manual

2340 - FIELD AND OTHER DISTRICT-SPONSORED TRIPS

The Board of Education recognizes the value of organized trips or other excursions away from the classroom as a valuable part of the District's educational programming and a valuable opportunity to obtain additional educational experiences not offered directly in the curriculum offerings. These opportunities occur in four (4) primary forms addressed in this policy: (a) field trips; (b) extra-curricular/co-curricular program-related trips; (c) overnight trips; and (d) other District-sponsored trips.

Field Trips

For purposes of this policy, a field trip shall be defined as any planned journey by one (1) or more students away from District premises, which is under the supervision of a professional staff member, approved by the Superintendent and furthers or supplements an integral part of a course of study as planned for and incorporated into that course of study by the teacher.

Properly planned and executed field trips should cultivate new interests among students, help students relate school experience to the reality of the world outside of school, bring the resources of the community within the student’s learning experience, and afford students the opportunity to study real things and processes in their actual environment.

Out-of-state field trips that do not include an overnight stay must be approved by the Administration.

Extra-Curricular/Co-Curricular Trips

The Board recognizes that student trips will occur for reasons that are not directly incorporated into the curriculum as part of a class, but rather are part of the extra-curricular/co-curricular activities offered by the District. For example, a District athletic team may travel to away games or take a trip to an out-of-town tournament. Any such trips must be identified at the beginning of the activity for the school year or for the particular season. Extra-curricular or co-curricular trips shall be approved by the Administration in accordance with the same procedures used for approving field trips. In cases where such advance notice is not possible (such as travel to State tournament competition), the staff member responsible for such activity shall notify the Athletic Director of the activity and pertinent information.

Extra-curricular trips that extend to an overnight stay are considered overnight travel, other than MHSAA athletic teams participating in State tournaments/meets.

Overnight Travel

Overnight travel is defined as a field trip that involves one (1) or more overnight stays. The District views overnight travel outside of the District related to the curriculum/program as an adjunct to that curriculum/program. As such, it is an important feature of the overall educational program. The District recognizes the importance of overnight travel outside of the District to amplify and enhance studies that occur in the schools' classrooms through unique enrichment opportunities that are not available locally. Overnight travel shall first be approved by the Superintendent in accordance with the District's overnight travel guidelines and then must be submitted to the Board for final approval.

International field trips present special considerations that need to be taken into account when planning these activities. The Board must approve these trips to be considered District-sponsored trips. The Board will only approve international field trips that are affiliated with a sponsoring or commercial organization that specializes in international travel and that is responsible for establishing the cost of such programs and for collecting payment directly from participating students or their parents.

Approval of international travel shall also take into account travel warnings for Americans to avoid travel to specified countries. These warnings are issued by the United States Department of State based on current conditions around the world and are updated as deemed necessary.

Other District-Sponsored Trips

Other District-sponsored trips shall be defined as any planned, student-travel activity which is approved as part of the District's total educational program, but not a part of a particular course and not expressly connected to an established extra-curricular/co-curricular activity. These trips may include such trips as summer trip programs, youth service trips, and other types of day trips that are organized by or through school staff or facilitated in some fashion through the District.

Trip Approval Process

No staff member may offer or lead any trip as a District-sponsored trip unless the trip has been approved in the manner prescribed in this policy.

Proposals shall include the details of the trip, the cost of the trip, identify any third-party entities that will be involved in the trip, identify the curriculum-based purpose of the trip, identify what students will be eligible to participate, and any other pertinent information. If overnight, the proposal must describe how accommodations will be provided and how such arrangements will be properly supervised.

The Superintendent shall approve all other such trips.

Students may be charged fees for District-sponsored trips, but no student shall be denied participation for financial inability, nor shall nonparticipation be penalized academically.

Students on all District-sponsored trips remain under the supervision of this Board and are subject to the District's administrative guidelines.

The Board does not endorse, support, or assume liability in any way for any staff member, volunteer, or parent of the District who takes students on trips not approved by the Board or Superintendent. No staff member may solicit students of this District for such trips within the facilities or on the school grounds of the District without permission from the Superintendent. Permission to solicit neither grants nor implies approval of the trip. Such approval must be obtained in accordance with the District's Administrative Guidelines for Extended Trips.

The Superintendent shall prepare administrative guidelines for the operation of both field and other District-sponsored trips, including athletic trips, which shall ensure:

the safety and well-being of students;
parental permission is sought and obtained before any student leaves the District on a trip;
each trip is properly planned, and if a field trip, is integrated with the curriculum, evaluated, and followed up by appropriate activities which enhance its usefulness;
the effectiveness of field trip activities is judged in terms of demonstrated learning outcomes;
each trip is properly monitored;
student behavior while on all field trips complies with the Student Code of Conduct and on all other trips complies with an approved code of conduct for the trip;
the staff member in charge shall have access to each student's Emergency Medical Authorization Form;
provisions have been made for the administration of medication to those students for whom medications are administered routinely while at school;
provisions have been made at the trip destination and in transportation, if and when required to accommodate students and/or chaperones with disabilities;
provisions for the selection of lodging (for overnight trips) that provides a safe and secure environment.

A professional staff member shall not change a planned itinerary while the trip is in progress, except where the health, safety, or welfare of the students in the staff member's charge is imperiled.

In any instance in which the itinerary of a trip is altered, the professional staff member in charge shall notify the administrative superior immediately.

Trips Not Sponsored by the District

No staff member, volunteer, coach, or other individual acting in some capacity for the District may solicit students of this District to participate in any trip not sponsored by the District unless that staff individual has received approval of the Superintendent to promote such trips within the facilities or on the school grounds. This includes summer trips abroad or other trips offered through a third-party organizer in which a staff member, volunteer, coach, or other individual acting in some capacity for the District is participating, as well as athletic activities outside the District's athletic program.

If approval is granted to solicit students to participate, that individual must clearly communicate to parents that the trip is not District-sponsored and that that individual is not participating within the staff individual's role representing the District. Coordination and/or participation in such a program shall be consistent with Policy 3210 - Staff Ethics/Policy 4210 - Support Staff Ethics.

Transportation for Field and Other District Sponsored Trips

Regular or special-purpose school vehicles will be used for transportation on field and other District-sponsored trips.

The transportation for all field and other District-sponsored trips is to be by vehicles owned or approved by the District and driven by approved drivers. Exceptions must have the approval of the Superintendent.

For all other trips, including co-curricular, athletic, and other extra-curricular trips, the District will assume the transportation costs.

by the sponsoring organization.
from the designated fund.

Transportation may be limited by the availability of vehicles, drivers, and scheduling, and will not be available when needed for general school purposes.

All field trips shall be supervised by members of the staff. All other District-sponsored trips shall be supervised by either staff members or adults from the sponsoring organization. Any time students are in the vehicle, at least one (1) sponsor, chaperone, or staff member is expected to ride in the vehicle as well to supervise students upon return to the District and while they are waiting for rides home.

All students are expected to ride the approved vehicle to and from each activity. A special request must be made to the staff member or sponsor by the parent, in writing or in person, to allow an exception.
District students not affiliated with the trip activity, nondistrict students, and/or children of preschool age shall not be permitted to ride on the trip vehicle.

No student is allowed to drive on any trip. An exception may be made by the Principal on an individual basis provided the student has written parental permission and does not transport any other student.
The Superintendent shall prepare administrative guidelines to ensure that all transportation is in compliance with Board policy on the use of District vehicles and/or private vehicles.

Revised 6/12/23