| Farwell Area Schools |
| 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. | bring the resources of the community - natural, artistic, industrial, commercial, governmental, educational - within the student's learning experience. |
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 under the supervision of a professional staff member and an integral part of the curriculum. 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.
The Board of Education shall approve those field trips and other District-sponsored trips which are planned to keep students out of the District overnight or longer.
The Superintendent shall approve all other such trips.
Students may be charged reasonable fees for field trips but no student shall be denied participation for financial inability, nor shall nonparticipation be penalized academically.
Students on all District-sponsored trips remain under the supervision of this Board and are subject to its 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 ensure that:
| A. | the safety and well-being of students is protected at all times; | |
| B. | parental permission is sought and obtained before any student leaves the District on a trip; | |
| C. | the effectiveness of field trip activities is judged in terms of demonstrated learning outcomes; | |
| D. | each trip is properly monitored; | |
| E. | no field trip will be approved unless it contributes to the achievement of specified instructional objectives; | |
| F. | a copy of each student's Emergency Medical Authorization Form is the possession of the staff member in charge. |
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.
In any instance in which the itinerary of a trip is altered, the professional staff member in charge shall notify the administrative superior immediately.
M.C.L.A. 380.1282