FIELD TRIPS ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

Teachers planning field trips must comply with the following requirements:

1. At least one teacher or other authorized adult with background check clearance must accompany every 20 students at the high school level, every 15 students at the middle school level and every 10 students at the elementary level.

2. There is at least one accompanying adult trained in CPR and basic first aid, and a first aid kit is accessible.

3. At the very beginning of any field trip there is a meeting with students going over appropriate safety procedures and the assignment and use of a buddy system.

4. There will be no boating activities (e.g., kayaking, paddle boarding, non-powered sailing and canoeing) on a field trip unless supervised and controlled by an authorized organization (see last paragraph of this policy) or qualified Maine Guide with a current liability insurance policy with a minimum of $1 million coverage per occurrence.

5. There will be no swimming activities on a field trip unless supervised and controlled by an authorized organization (see last paragraph of this policy).

6. All field trips must have a designated trip leader who is an employee of the school district. The trip leader always has the authority to stop any activity by the authorized organization that they deem unsafe or inappropriate for students.

7. Field trips that require boating transportation are allowed provided that the boat is a commercial vessel licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard for the number of passengers to be transported and with a current liability insurance policy with a minimum of $1 million coverage per occurrence.

8. Students on field trips without an authorized organization to a state park may go into the water up to one’s arm pits provided that (a) all conditions in this policy are met; (b) a life guard is on duty and (c) there is at least one authorized adult for every 6 students.

9. Trips to water parks are allowed if the following procedures are followed:

a. The trip leader obtains and reviews information on the safety procedures employed by the water park and this information is shared with students and staff as part of the safety procedures;

b. All students engaged in water activities are required to either wear a Coast Guard approved lifejacket or provide proof that they are able to swim as determined by either (a) swim test by certified instructor or (b) written permission is given by a parent/guardian;

c. The trips follow all other requirements of policy.

10. All field trips must be approved in advance by the applicable building administrator and the Superintendent of Schools or his/her designee.

11. All water-based field trips, out-of-state field trips, any overnight field trips, and any field trip that involves transportation other than that provided by the school district  (eg, aircrafts, water vehicles, etc.) must be approved by the School Committee after the School Committee receives a description of the field trip along with the form used to receive parent/guardian approval.  Any field trip requiring approval under this paragraph that is substantially the same as a field trip that was previously approved by the School Committee may be submitted for approval through the Consent Agenda for a meeting of the School Committee. In situations where the School Committee is not meeting prior to the field trip, the Superintendent is authorized to approve the field trip taking place and then present it to the School Committee at its next meeting.

Authorized organizations as of June 1, 2019 include the YMCA, Chewonki, Camp Kieve and L.L. Bean. Additional organizations and qualified Maine Guides may be added by the Superintendent provided that the organization or individual adheres to best practices for water-based activities similar to those described in the Investigation 

Adopted: 6-12-2019