Policy file: ????

FIELD TRIPS



Definition/Application of Policy

Any trip organized or conducted by an employee of the Lincoln Public Schools which takes students away from the Lincoln or Hanscom Schools campuses shall be considered a field trip. All field trips shall be governed by this policy.

Field trips should be educational in nature and shall be preceded and followed by appropriate learning experiences related to the trip.

Students on field trips are representatives of their schools and are expected to behave appropriately at all times including time beyond school hours. School rules and regulations apply to all field trips.

Funding

School system funds, grants, gifts and proceeds from fundraising may be used to fund field trips. Additionally, parents may be requested to pay for additional costs for field trips, including admission fees, housing, food, etc. However, it is the policy of the School Committee that organizers of field trips ensure that no child is excluded because of such additional costs. If fundraising efforts are not sufficient and / or the school budget cannot subsidize the cost of those children who are unable to pay, then the trip will be automatically disapproved.

Should students be involved in fundraising, the amount of time to be devoted to fundraising should be reasonable and commensurate with students’ obligations for homework and after-school activities. Group fundraising activities are preferred. Students should not be assigned individual fundraising targets.

DAY FIELD TRIPS



Approval

  1. Permission to take a day field trip shall be secured from the Principal prior to making any arrangements or advertising for the trip. A field trip form must be filed with the Principal who will authorize the trip by signing the request form and returning it to the teacher(s). A copy of the field trip form will be filed with the Superintendent's office.
  2. Vehicles of common carriers or the transportation contractor may be used. Additionally, drivers designated by the administration and covered by the appropriate insurance may be used to transport students on day trips.
  3. All proposals for day field trips must include appropriate notification for the school nurse who will prepare a medical needs list for the supervising teacher. The school nurse will coordinate delegation of medication to a trained teacher.
  4. Parental permission slips must be secured for all trips. Permission slips shall specify, at a minimum, date, time, location and method of transportation. A separate permission slip must be signed for each field trip. At the start of each year parents may sign a blanket field trip permission slip allowing their child to participate in walking field trips that are contained on campus, i.e., Hanscom Air Force Base.
  5. All field trips must be adequately supervised by classroom teachers. Additionally, classroom assistants and parent volunteers may assist as chaperones. Volunteer chaperones must have CORI checks in accordance with M.G.L c.71 s38R.

LATE NIGHT AND OVERNIGHT FIELD TRIPS



Definition

Any student travel sponsored by the Lincoln Public Schools that is planned to occur between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m., or that will include an overnight stay away from a student’s home.

The Lincoln Public Schools will sponsor late night or overnight field trips only when these trips relate to the curriculum or extra-curricular activities at the specific school. Trips that do not relate to the educational program will not be approved. The School Committee shall vote to approve all late night or overnight field trips upon the recommendation of the Superintendent. From time to time teachers organize overnight trips that take place during school vacations. Teachers may distribute information about these trips providing all materials indicate that the trip is not sponsored by the Lincoln Public Schools and has not been approved by the School Committee.

Teachers proposing to take students on a late night or overnight field trip are required to submit a written proposal to their Principal who will review and approve the request prior to submission to the Superintendent for recommendation to and approval by the School Committee. Advance approval is required.

Except in unusual circumstances, proposals must be submitted a minimum of three months prior to the approval date. Sufficient time should be allowed to finalize plans after approval has been granted.

Proposals for late night and overnight field trips

Proposal must address each of these items:

  1. Grades/classes participating.
  2. Educational or extra-curricular purpose of the trip. Overnight Trips should offer significant educational benefits to students that clearly justify the time and expense of the trip. Such trips should be appropriate for the grade level.
  3. Connections to the curriculum including learning activities in preparation for the trip and follow-up after the trip.
  4. Details concerning destinations and itinerary (include departure date and time and estimated return time).
  5. Transportation plans that take into account the following considerations:
    1. Whenever possible, the trip schedulers should avoid planning student travel between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m., due to the increased risk vehicular accidents during this time period.
    2. Transportation, unless provided by the district's transportation contractor, must be procured using the guidelines and regulations of Chapter 30B, State Procurement Act. No perks for students or teachers will be allowed, except for those specifically identified by the vendor through the procurement process.
    3. The use of vans or private automobiles for trips planned to include late night or overnight student travel should generally be avoided. Such trips should generally use commercial motor coaches.
    4. Trips planned to include late night or overnight student travel should involve pre-trip checks of vendors.
    5. School officials should ensure that the selected carrier is licensed for passenger transportation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The district should not contract with any carrier that has an FMCSA safety ratio of “conditional” or “unsatisfactory.” FMCSA carrier ratings are available at http://mtmc.army.mil/content/504/aprovedlist.
    6. The contract with the carrier should prohibit the use of a subcontractor unless sufficient notice is given to the district to allow verification of the subcontractor’s qualifications
  6. Accommodation plans
    Overnight accommodations should be made in advance with student safety and security in mind. All accomodations must be procured using the guidelines and regulations of Chapter 30B, State Procurement Act. No perks for students or teachers will be allowed, except for those specifically identified by the vendor through the procurement process.
  7. Proposed cost of the trip per student, a complete budget for the trip (including funding for chaperones etc. teacher stipends as negotiated in the LTA contract) and sources of funding.
  8. Number of students and adults participating, including percentages of the class / group. If substantially all members of a class are participating in a trip, the school should provide appropriate substitute activities for any students not participating.
  9. Information about chaperones
    1. Students shall be accompanied by a sufficient number of chaperones, taking into account the trip scheduling and logistics. All chaperones, including parents and volunteers, must have CORI check in accordance with M.G.L. c.71 s.38R.
    2. CORI checks are recommended but not required by law for bus drivers who do not regularly work for the school district and who will not have direct and unmonitored contract with students. If such checks cannot be done, a chaperone must always be present whenever students are on the bus.
  10. Sample of information packet prepared for parents (including information about optional trip insurance).
  11. Notification of the School Nurse who will prepare a medical needs list for the supervising teacher. The school nurse will coordinate delegation of medication to a trained teacher.
  12. Copy of permission slip to be used for the trip. Permission slips must include language releasing teachers, administrators, School Committee members, the school district and the Town from liability relating to the cost of sending a student home for disciplinary reasons.
  13. An agenda for a parent meeting to describe the trip and its purpose.
  14. Provisions to ensure that all students are able to attend the trip if they so desire.
  15. Proposal for overnight trips must be signed by the faculty member(s) proposing such trip.

A complete copy of the itinerary, and roster of participants must be on file at the Principal's office for the duration of the trip.

Voted at June 3, 2004 School Committee Meeting