Monroe 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 may be charged fees, including, but not limited to, admission fees, for District-sponsored 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 the District's administrative guidelines.

Nonschool-sponsored field trips organized by employees acting as independent contractors/agents involving students on a volunteer, self-supporting basis are not approved by the Board and are not considered a part of the curriculum.

Responsibility for privately planned field trips or tours rests with the individuals and agency sponsoring them. The Board assumes no legal or financial responsibilities for nonschool-sponsored field trips. If recruitment of students for a field trip is sought through the schools, the recruitment request shall be made only with the approval of the Superintendent. Recruitment efforts shall not occur during class time or the employee’s work day.

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.

Field Trips are a privilege for students. Student participation may be denied by the sponsoring teacher and principal if s/he has demonstrated behavior that brings into question the safety of themselves or others.

Students that are participating in field trips will be given ample opportunity to make up work that was missed in classes not involved in the field trip. Teachers are to work together in coordination of efforts.

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

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

Revised 6/21/07
Revised 6/28/10
Revised 12/17/12
Revised 1/11/16

© Neola 2012