Otsego Local School District
Bylaws & Policies
 

2340 - FIELD AND OTHER DISTRICT-SPONSORED TRIPS

The Board of Education recognizes that field trips, when used for teaching and learning integral to the curriculum, are an educationally sound and important ingredient in the instructional program of the schools. Properly planned and executed field trips should:

 

A.

supplement and enrich classroom procedures by providing learning experiences in an environment outside the schools;

   
 

B.

arouse new interests among students;

   
 

C.

help students relate school experiences to the reality of the world outside of school;

   
 

D.

bring the resources of the community - natural, artistic, industrial, commercial, governmental, educational - within the student's learning experience;

   
 

E.

afford students the opportunity to study real things and real processes in their actual environment.

For purposes of this policy, a field trip shall be defined as any planned journey by one or more students away from District premises, which is an integral part of a course of study and is under the direct supervision and control of a professional staff member or any advisor as designated by the Superintendent.

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 and is under the direct supervision and control of a professional staff member or any advisor as designated by the Superintendent.

School personnel shall not accept any form of compensation from vendors that might influence their recommendation on the eventual selection of a location for, or a vendor that will provide transportation to, a field or other district-sponsored trip. Furthermore, school personnel shall not accept any compensation from a vendor after a decision has been made regarding the location for, or a vendor that will provide transportation to, a field or other District-sponsored trip. In addition, school personnel who recommended the location for, or a vendor that will provide transportation to, a field or other district-sponsored trip shall not enter into a contractual arrangement whereby an individual staff member receives compensation in any form from the vendor that operates the venue for, or provides the transportation to, a field or other District-sponsored trip for services rendered.

Such compensation includes, but is not limited to, cash, checks, stocks, or any other form of securities, and gifts such as televisions, microwave ovens, computers, discount certificates, travel vouchers, tickets, passes, and other such things of value. In the event that a school staff member receives such compensation, albeit unsolicited, from a vendor, the staff member shall notify the Treasurer, in writing, that s/he received such compensation and shall thereafter promptly transmit said compensation to the Treasurer at his/her earliest opportunity.

The Board shall approve those field trips and other District-sponsored trips which are planned to keep students out of the District overnight or longer or out of the State, except that prior Board approval is not required for overnight trips related to athletic contests and other extracurricular competitions that arise at a time when no Board meetings are scheduled prior to the date of the trip.

The Superintendent shall approve all other such trips. The Superintendent may approve overnight trips related to athletic contests and other extracurricular competitions that arise at a time when no Board meetings are scheduled prior to the date of the trip.

Students will not be charged for the cost of transportation to and from educational field trips on school days. Students may be assessed the cost for transportation to and from educational field trips on non-school days.

Students may be charged fees, including, but not limited to, admission fees, for District-sponsored trips.

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 address:

 

A.

the safety and well-being of students;

   
 

B.

parental permission is sought and obtained before any student leaves the District on a trip;

   
 

C.

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;

   
 

D.

the effectiveness of field trip activities is judged in terms of demonstrated learning outcomes;

   
 

E.

each trip is properly monitored;

   
 

F.

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;

   
 

G.

a copy of each student's Emergency Medical Authorization Form is in the possession of the staff member in charge;

   
 

H.

provisions have been made for the administration of medication to those students for whom medications are administered routinely while at school;

   
 

I.

provisions have been made at the trip destination and in transportation, if and when required to accommodate students and/or chaperones with disabilities.

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 his/her charge is imperiled or where changes or substitutions beyond his/her control have frustrated the purpose of the trip.

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

School vehicles are not to be used if the entire distance traveled round trip from the point of exit and entry of the State is more than 1,000 miles.

R.C. 3327.15
A.C. 3301-83-12, 3301-83-16(A)(B)(E)
Auditor of State Bulletin 2000-006

© Neola 2012