COMMUNITY
INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES/FIELD TRIPS AND EXCURSIONS
The Board recognizes the value of educational field trips as a
valuable supplement to the regular educational program. The
Superintendent or designee is authorized to supervise and direct all
programs involving educational field trips and shall have the
responsibility to determine whether the educational benefits obtained
are sufficient to warrant the time and/or expense of the trip.
For the purpose of this policy, student trips shall
be defined as follows:
- Day Trips - trips which are scheduled to
coincide with the regular school day.
- Extended Day Trips - trips which take
place in whole, or in part, before or after
the regular
school hours, but do not require overnight lodging.
Overnight Trips - trips which require the
participants to be lodged at an
approved location.
Interstate Trips - trips
which require travel and or lodging outside of Michigan but within
the continental United States.
International Trips - trips
which require travel to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico
or to or through foreign countries
not on the restricted travel list of the U.S. Department of
State/Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Day trips and extended day trips must be approved by
the building principal. Overnight trips and interstate trips must be
approved by the Superintendent or designee. International trips and
interstate trips of a duration of four (4) or more days must be
approved by the Board.
A school-sponsored activity group which is
contemplating an international trip must seek conditional approval of
the Board prior to engaging in any specific planning or fund raising
relative to such international trip. Following the initial approval
for the international trip, the sponsoring organization will be
required to formulate specific plans which must be presented to the
Board for final approval on or before a date established by the Board.
All requests for approval of trips will be based on
whether the proposed trip meets a specific educational purpose that
includes the following objectives:
- The activity is related to the curriculum.
- The activity will benefit the social and/or
educational growth of the students.
- The activity is of overall benefit to the
district.
The following criteria shall have been considered
and approved prior to interstate and international trips.
- It is expected that out-of-state trips shall be
taken during non-school times. Only on those occasions where the
activity is deemed to be of particular educational value will
students be permitted to be dismissed from school, and then on a
very limited basis only.
- Trips taken on school time are subject to the
regulations and requirements of the North Central Association of
Colleges and Secondary Schools and the University of Michigan Bureau
of School Services.
- The trip shall have substantive educational
value.
- The activity shall be funded totally by the
student organization or its sponsors.
- Participation in the trip, as well as any fund
raising activities, shall be voluntary on the part of both students
and staff.
- Adequate liability insurance coverage shall be
obtained.
- Participation by staff members shall not mandate
financial remuneration by the district.
- The overall value of the trip shall equate
positively to both the financial and energy costs.
- All efforts to raise funds for such activities
shall be consistent with current Board policies and administrative
regulations.
- The group taking the trip assumes responsibility
for loss of or damage to any school equipment used.
When the Board determines to sponsor an
international trip or interstate trip of a duration of four (4) or
more days, the following guidelines shall be utilized:
- The Board shall determine whether there is an
appropriate number of adult chaperones accompanying the group.
- The Board shall require the chaperones, parents,
and/or legal guardians of the involved students to sign a waiver of
liability.
- The chaperone or chaperones in charge shall be
authorized with appropriate powers of attorney to be able to
authorize emergency medical treatment to all students involved in
the trip.
- Board policies and administrative regulations
concerning student conduct shall be enforced and additional rules
developed for the individual trip shall be presented to the Board.
- It shall be determined that the district is
covered by liability insurance for the specific trip request.
- An opinion addressing the liability insurance
coverage shall be in writing from the insurance representative.
- If the district's regular insurance policies do
not fully cover the trip, a rider shall be obtained with expense
borne by all of the participants and not the district.
- The Board shall approve the trip by formal
motion.
- If, in the sole discretion of the Board,
conditions warrant, the Board may rescind all prior approval of the
trip.
The following guidelines are set to implement the
planning of field trips:
- All trips, and the arrangements thereof, shall
have the approval of the building principal.
- All trips must be within budgetary allotments for
such purposes and be approved by the Assistant Superintendent for
Instruction and the Coordinator of Transportation.
- School bus transportation shall be provided when
the use of the equipment does not interfere with the regular
transportation of students to and from school. Private
transportation provided by teachers and/or parents shall not be used
without the approval of the building principal.
- Each child who goes on a field trip must have
written parental permission.
- There shall be at least one professional staff
member per bus, who shall supervise the trip. Parents may serve as
chaperones.
- Parents shall be given written notification that
the district does not sponsor certain activities that are promoted
by individual teachers (i.e. ski clubs, trips to Mexico during
summer months, etc.)
- An evaluation of the trip shall be made by the
professional in charge. An evaluation of the trip shall also be made
by the transportation department.
The Superintendent or designee shall be responsible
for implementing this policy of the Board and shall develop specific
regulations that relate to trip procedures, student and staff
behavior, and responsibility for school equipment. The Coordinator of
Transportation shall assist the Superintendent or designee in
arranging the use of school buses.
