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352 - Field Trips, Co-Curricular Trips, and Excursions

352

FIELD TRIPS, CO-CURRICULAR TRIPS, AND EXCURSIONS

The Board recognizes that a dynamic instructional program will cause professional staff to look beyond the confines of the traditional classroom environment for opportunities to enhance student learning. However, before trips are considered, professional educators are encouraged to consider program expansion through proper utilization of films, tapes, speakers and similar kinds of activities, which bring the desired resource into the classroom. Trips of significant educational value shall be permitted. To be educationally beneficial, a trip requires thoughtful selection, careful advance preparation of the class, and opportunities for students to assimilate the experiences during and after the trip. Trips of significant recreational value shall be permitted under special circumstances.

Consideration must be given to the effect the trip will have on other classes, school programs, and activities. The financial implications of field trips must be considered.

Field trips shall be planned and approved in accordance with established procedures.

 

Cross References:
Relationship with Community and Community Organizations (Student Fundraising), 881
Student Nondiscrimination, 411.2 & 511
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap 112.1 & 112.1-Rule
Field Trips, Co-curricular Trips, and Excursions, 352-Rule

Legal Reference:
121.54

Adoption Date: March 14, 1988

Amended Dates: May 8, 2000, July 14, 2003, and March 8, 2004

 

 

352-Rule

FIELD TRIPS, CO-CURRICULAR TRIPS, AND EXCURSIONS

Procedures

A. Day/Partial Day Field Trips and Excursions

B. Overnight Trips Within the Contiguous Forty-Eight States and District of Columbia

C. Foreign Travel – Middle School (Grades 7 & 8)

D. Foreign Travel – High School (Grades 9 - 12)

E. Co-Curricular/Contest Trips

A. Day/Partial Day Field Trips and Excursions

Field trips are approved, planned educational activities that involve students in learning experiences difficult to duplicate in a classroom situation. The main criterion governing the acceptance of a proposed field trip activity is that it should be a valuable educational experience relating directly to the standard and/or curriculum objectives of the participating class or group. Appropriate instruction should precede and follow each field trip.

  1. Teachers are to obtain the principal’s approval for each regular field trip. Two weeks prior notice of a trip must be given to insure proper scheduling. Field trip requests should be made in writing on the proper forms with an alternate date, whenever practical. When requesting field trips with students from more than one building, the requests must be approved by the principal group at that level the month prior to the trip.
  2. A parental permission slip is required for each student participating in the trip, including walking and bicycle excursions. The teacher will provide the parents with information concerning the purpose and destination of the trip, connection to the curriculum and project goals, transportation and eating arrangements, date and time of departure, estimated time of return, and a detailed field trip itinerary. If any unstructured free time with no direct adult supervision is part of the itinerary, it must be so noted on the permission form.
  3. Participants may be charged for a fair share of costs; however, no student will be denied the opportunity to participate due to inability to pay.
  4. One or more adults, in addition to the teacher, shall accompany each elementary and middle level class on field trips. Teachers are responsible for informing accompanying adults of their responsibilities. Recommended teacher/student ratio guidelines are: Grades K-2, one adult for every 10 students; Grades 3-6, one adult for every 15 students; Grades 7-8, one adult for every 20 students; Grades 9-12, one adult for every 25 students.
  5. The teacher will review acceptable standards of conduct with the students in advance of the trip. All school and District conduct policies and rules will apply to students participating in field trips and excursions. Students who have exhibited unruly behavior in the past that may cause safety concerns for themselves or others may be excluded from the trip.
  6. School attendance is compulsory, but attendance for field trips and excursions is not required. An appropriate alternate experience must be provided at school for students not participating in the trip. The teacher planning the trip will be responsible for arranging an appropriate educational experience and supervision for students who do not participate in the trip.
  7. First aid kits, student medical information, and any necessary student medications are required on all field trips and excursions. Use and care of necessary student medication while on trips and excursions shall be governed by policy 453.4 and 453.4-Rule. All necessary student medication shall remain in the possession of an adult while on the trip or excursion.
  8. Student safety will be a primary consideration. Should an emergency situation occur, the teacher is responsible for notifying the principal or designee by telephone as soon as possible. The principal or designee will make the appropriate District contacts.
  9. School buses ordinarily will be used for transportation. Commercial carriers may be used for certain trips. The use of private vehicles by staff members for transporting small groups of students may be authorized, provided that the driver has the required liability insurance. Transportation by students and parents of children other than their own will not be permitted.

B. Overnight Trips Within the Contiguous Forty-Eight States and District of Columbia

Overnight trips, excursions and other travel are considered logical extensions of the educational experiences provided for students. These trips will be planned and conducted in accordance with the following procedures:

  1. The trip must enhance the learning process by relating to a specific AASD standard that is stated clearly on the application form.
  2. Overnight trips that recur annually or biannually should be submitted for approval, following all guidelines listed below. Upon approval, these trips do not need to be re-approved in subsequent years, unless the length of time of the trip, or the destination of the trip changes, in which case application must be resubmitted. However, the Board reserves the right to rescind approval if conditions change or the value of the trip becomes questionable.
  3. All overnight trip requests must be submitted and approved by the building principal at least six months in advance of the trip date, using the appropriate request forms. The following criteria need to be met before the principal forwards the request to the School Services office.
    • Specific dates of the trip must be listed on the form. When students from more than one school are involved, the requests must be approved by the principal group at that level.
    • Trip organizers must include in the application, a full disclosure of student fees, sources of funding for the trip, and ways that the trip will be funded for needy students.
    • The application must include a complete trip itinerary that lists the planned timeframes for all activities, as well as unstructured time.
    • It is expected that overnight trips will be scheduled during vacation periods when possible. If travel arrangements necessitate that school days are missed, the principal needs to ascertain if the school time missed is within acceptable limits.
    • All overnight trips must occur before May 1st each year, with the exception of curriculum related elementary camping trips. Teams or groups qualifying for state or national contests or competitions will also be exempt from this regulation.
    • The ratio of adults to students must be one to twelve for all overnight trips. However, there must always be a minimum of two adults accompanying the students, one of whom must be a contracted staff member. If both male and female students are going on the trip, there must be both male and female chaperones.
    • Applications must be forwarded to the School Services office for approval by the Board six months prior to the student trip and before any fundraising specific to the trip can begin. (Note: Be sure to provide appropriate lead-time for the application to go to the Programs and Services Committee prior to Board approval.) If fundraising needs to begin more than six months prior to the trip, make sure the application is submitted earlier than six months to allow for this to happen.
    • Extenuating circumstances that might create a shorter timeframe for approval will be handled on an individual basis. (Example: Invitation to a prestigious competition did not arrive until four months prior to the event.) Principals need to contact their School Services Assistant Superintendent should this occur.
  4. Parents or legal guardians must sign and return to the teacher, a parent permission form indicating that they understand and approve of the proposed itinerary, which includes any unstructured time without direct adult supervision, and of the student rules and regulations as they apply to their children’s involvement in this trip. A copy of this permission form will be provided to the building principal by the staff member proposing the trip.
  5. Student safety will be a priority. First aid kits and appropriate student medical information are required on all trips. Use and care of necessary student medication while on overnight trips shall be governed by policy 453.4 and 453.4-Rule. Should any type of emergency occur, the teacher is responsible for notifying the principal or designee by telephone as soon as possible. The principal or designee will make the appropriate District contacts. A systematic plan for contact with parents, should it be necessary, needs to be outlined prior to the trip.
  6. The teacher will review acceptable standards of conduct with the students in advance of the trip. All school and District conduct policies and rules will apply to students participating in field trips and excursions. Students who exhibit unruly behavior that may cause safety concerns for themselves or others may be excluded from the trip.
  7. Commercial carriers will ordinarily be used for overnight trips. The use of private vehicles by staff members for transporting small groups of students may be authorized, provided that the driver has the required liability insurance. Transportation by students and parents will not be permitted.
  8. School attendance is compulsory, but attendance for overnight trips and excursions is not required. An appropriate alternate experience must be provided at school for students not participating in the trip.

C. Foreign Travel – Middle School (Grades 7 & 8)

Foreign travel outside the 48 contiguous states is not considered appropriate for middle level students. However, foreign travel connected to the study of a world language/culture class may be conducted at the end (late May) of the eighth grade year, or the summer following the completion of eighth grade, if all guidelines listed below for foreign travel in Section D. Foreign Travel – High School (Grades 9 - 12) are met. It is the expectation that the middle schools, with the leadership of the World Languages Department, collectively submit the five-year plan for travel as outlined in that section.

D. Foreign Travel – High School (Grades 9 - 12)

Foreign travel will be defined as travel beyond the 48 contiguous states. Opportunities for foreign travel are provided to high school students as a logical extension of the educational experiences provided for students. These trips will be planned and conducted in accordance with the following procedures:

  1. The trip must be a learning process and substantially contribute to the objectives of the course or stated objectives of the group. Foreign travel must be well planned and articulated before approval will be granted.
  2. Each high school shall submit a five-year plan (updated annually) for foreign travel to the School Services office before the end of May each year. The plans will then be reviewed by the Programs and Services Committee of the Board, and will be forwarded to the Board of Education as an Item of Information in June or July of each year. This plan will include the departments/classes/organizations that will be planning foreign travel, the target dates of the trip (month and year), estimated cost, and the tentative destination, if known.
  3. Principals at each high school will approve foreign travel applications and assure that all provisions of this policy have been met. Schools must submit all principal approved applications to the School Services office by March 1st of the calendar year prior to the scheduled trip departure date. School Services will schedule the requests on the March Program and Services Committee agenda and if recommended by this Committee, move the requests to the full Board for approval
  4. All foreign trips must have the approval of the principal and the Board of Education before money is collected from students for the trip.
  5. Parents or legal guardians shall be provided with a trip itinerary that provides all pertinent dates, places, and times. Unstructured free time, when students may be without direct adult supervision, must be clearly identified on the parent permission form. Parents or legal guardians must sign and return to the teacher, a parent consent form indicating that they understand and approve of the proposed itinerary and of the student rules and regulations as they apply to their children’s involvement in this trip. A copy of this form will be provided to the building principal.
  6. A full disclosure of financial arrangements must be available for family, principal, and Board review. This includes any free tickets or subsidized travel for adults, as well as an itemized listing of the expenditures of student money.
  7. In no instance will the Appleton Area School District refund any monies to students for trips that are cancelled, including those trips that are cancelled by the Board of Education for student safety reasons. A statement to this effect must be on all trip permission forms for foreign travel. However, if the Board of Education finds it necessary to cancel a student trip, every effort will be made to work with the agency that booked the travel, to garner refunds to the greatest extent possible.
  8. Student safety will be a priority. First aid kits and appropriate student medical information are required on all trips. Prescription medications must be in the original bottle with the contents clearly listed. Trip sponsors will also need a listing of all prescription medications carried by students on the trip.
  9. Should an emergency situation occur, the teacher is responsible for notifying the principal or designee as soon as possible. The principal or designee will make the appropriate District contacts. Cell phones will be made available to groups that are traveling to foreign countries.
  10. It is expected that foreign travel will be scheduled during student vacation periods or in the summer. Missing school time is strongly discouraged. If travel arrangements necessitate that school days are missed, the principal may approve faculty and student absences provided that, in his/her judgment, the school time missed is within acceptable limits.
  11. There must be one adult (age 21 or older) for every twelve students, with a minimum of two adults (one must be a staff member), to supervise students on overnight trips.
  12. The teacher will review acceptable standards of conduct with the students in advance of the trip. All school and District conduct policies and rules, including the co-curricular code, will apply to students participating in foreign travel. Because foreign travel opportunities are a privilege, students who exhibit unruly behavior that may cause safety concerns for themselves or others may be excluded from the trip. Students who do not exhibit acceptable behavior while on foreign trips, may be escorted home at parent’s expense.
  13. Participation in foreign trips is voluntary. Pressure to participate will not be exerted on students by District personnel.
  14. Schools need to be sensitive to student needs when planning foreign travel. Possible participation in State sports competitions, study time needed for semester tests, and other student needs should be considered by teachers when determining the dates of foreign travel.
  15. Upon completion of any overnight trip, the teacher responsible for the trip will provide to the principal an evaluation report which will include the extent to which objectives of the trip were met, the cost per student, all pertinent activities that occurred during the course of the trip, any awards or recognition received by the traveling group, any problems incurred during the course of the trip, and any suggestions for future trips. The principal will forward the evaluation report to the appropriate Assistant Superintendent.

E. Co-Curricular/Contest Trips

Co-curricular trips are those related to the activities of recognized, school-sponsored student groups and organizations. The experience gained from such trips is considered to be part of the total educational experience and is an outgrowth of a co-curricular activity. Co-curricular groups function after the regular school day, and these trips are normally scheduled after school hours. Examples of groups taking such trips would be athletic teams, debate teams, music groups, ski club and other recognized organizations normally involved in a participatory or supportive function to events, meets, conferences, or workshops with other schools or institutions. Overnight trips for co-curricular groups must meet the guidelines of overnight trips listed in Section B of this policy. WIAA athletic competitions that would include overnight travel may not be able to meet the timeframe and conditions of Section B. (Example: travel to play in state or conference playoffs.) If that is the case, the following guidelines must be met:

  1. All applications for WIAA competitions must be submitted to and approved by the building principal and activities director.
  2. No WIAA trips shall be authorized unless they are under the direct sponsorship of the School District, with direct supervision of personnel in the employ of the School District.
  3. The principal and activities director will require parent consent forms in advance of student participation for certain WIAA trips of an unusual or irregular nature.

 

Adoption Date: March 14, 1988

Amended Dates: May 8, 2000, July 14, 2003, and March 8, 2004

  • Series 300: Instruction
First page of the PDF file: 352

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