FILE:  IFCB

Cf:  EDAE

 

FIELD TRIPS AND EXCURSIONS

 

 

The Lafayette Parish School Board recognizes that educational field trips and excursions for instructional purposes help provide desirable learning experiences.  The Superintendent has the responsibility for the development of administrative criteria governing field trips and excursions.  Only those field trips, however, that grow out of the instructional program or are otherwise related to the program are to be permitted on school time.  Other trips such as those involving band and athletic activities should be confined to non-school time, except where the school is engaged in competition or a contest that requires use of school time.

 

Teachers planning on conducting out-of-parish field trips or learning experiences shall submit, through the principal, an application in writing to the Superintendent or his/her designee for approval.  Before any trip or excursion is taken, written parental permission shall be secured for every student planning to take the trip.  Students who have not submitted signed parental permission forms shall not be allowed to make the trip.

 

Before approval of any field trip is given, it shall be determined whether the trip is covered by the School Board's liability insurance.  No travel shall be authorized where coverage cannot be secured prior to the trip commencing.  Except in extreme cases approved by the principal of the school, private vehicles shall not be used for transporting children on field trips.  Only buses, owned by or contracted to the school district, and driven by certified drivers shall be permitted, except as noted above.

 

The School Board does not endorse the use of private vehicles to transport students to and/or from interscholastic activities.  However, it recognizes the need for additional transportation at certain times; and the use of private vehicles may be utilized for the transportation of students to interscholastic activities provided that (1) students being thus transported provide the school with liability release forms signed by the students' parents/guardians; (2) all such vehicles are driven by properly licensed adults; and (3) the name of the driver, a copy of the driver's license, and proof of insurance coverage are provided to the principal, who submits them to the principal’s supervisor, prior to the use of the private vehicle.

 

STUDENT EXCURSIONS

 

Whenever any student trip or excursion utilizes the services of a travel agent or booking agent to provide or arrange for transportation or lodging, the School Board shall require the travel agent or booking agent to provide proof of adequate insurance and present to the School Board a surety bond sufficient to insure recovery of all monetary advances as a result of nonperformance.

 

The amount of the bond shall be at least equal to any payments made to the travel agent agency or booking agent prior to the date of travel.  In addition, any bond issued shall be from a surety company licensed to do business in Louisiana and approved by the School Board.  A certified check from the travel agency covering the full amount of advanced payment may be accepted by the School Board, but only when a bond is not available.

 

Additional regulations governing field trips or excursions for students that involve travel or lodging may be maintained by the Superintendent and staff.

 

The principal of a middle school or high school shall be prohibited from approving any field trip or extracurricular activity promoted by any individual, organization, or entity which plans, promotes, or organizes travel arrangements, unless the trip or activity is in accordance with all School Board and staff established criteria, and is covered by proper insurance and an acceptable surety bond.

 

TRAVEL TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES

 

Any travel to foreign countries shall be approved by the principal and then reviewed by the principal’s supervisor and the Superintendent’s designee.  Once approved by the committee, the Office of Risk Management shall be given information regarding the itinerary and names and addresses of all persons going on the trip, including students, employees, and non-employees.

 

GUIDELINES

 

  1. Any field trips or activities of students during or out-side of school hours sponsored by the school and involving student, and/or teaching personnel, are considered school sponsored trips.

  2. A field trip is defined as any departure from the school whereby students, teachers, aides, principals and/or any other school personnel are involved.

  3. The principal and the trip chaperone must have on file prior to the date of departure, a detailed travel plan.  This should include the following information:

 

  1. Student’s name

  2. Student’s home address

  3. Student’s home phone number

  4. A list of all participating students’ chaperones

  5. A travel itinerary including dates and time of departure location of stops and meals, and the total cost of the trip for each participant.

 

  1. If the field trip is planned under the auspices of an outside agency, the principal should check carefully the credibility of the organization, its financial standing and performance record.

  2. The principal or teacher in charge should make every effort to include everyone in the class or student organization on the trip, however, a field trip sponsored by an individual school is limited to the students who are currently registered in that class and/or grade unless it is a joint activity in which students from other schools will participate.

  3. No student may attend a field trip unless a parental permission slip is signed by the parent and on file in the principal's office prior to the trip.  No student shall be made to attend a field trip.  If there are students within a class and/or group who will not be taking the field trip, the principal and teacher should make provisions for educational instruction for those students for that day.  Educational instruction must be provided.

  4. Elementary students should be provided with secure name tags listing student's names and emergency telephone numbers.

  5. Careful supervision of students, including accounting for students immediately following each activity should be closely monitored and adhered to.

  6. All field trips should be planned in conjunction with a unit of study as a means of concluding the unit with a field trip.

  7. Any travel costs for student participation in co-curricular or extracurricular events shall be the responsibility of the student, the sponsoring organization, or the school.

 

The Superintendent shall have the authority and discretion to approve, decline, suspend, postpone, cancel, etc., any school sponsored student travel (including but not limited to field trips, excursions, travel for co-curricular or extracurricular events or activities, travel to foreign countries, etc.) without prior notice if he/she determines that doing so is in the best interest of the health, safety, or welfare of the trip attendees.  By way of example, the Superintendent may decline, suspend, postpone, cancel, etc., trips or travel in response to declared states of emergency, extreme weather conditions, public health threats, travel advisories, terror alerts issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, etc.  Neither the School Board nor the Superintendent shall be liable for any such change or cancellation.

 

Issued and approved prior to 1975 Revised:  September 6, 2006
Revised:  November 3, 1982 Revised:  September 2, 2015
Revised:  July 1, 1987 Revised:  March 11, 2020
Revised:  July 18, 2001  

 

 

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:176.1

Board minutes, 11-3-82, 11-5-86, 7-1-87, 7-5-89, 2-16-01, 7-18-01, 9-6-06, 9-2-15, 3-11-20

 

Lafayette Parish School Board