SCHOOL-SPONSORED STUDENT TRAVEL

These policies shall guide school-sponsored student travel that occurs between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m., or that will include an overnight stay away from the student’s home.

Trip Approval Process

• Advance approval by the school committee is required for any student trip involving late-night or overnight travel. Teachers and school staff interested in organizing an overnight student trip must first seek approval from their building principal. 

• The approval process should be completed prior to engaging students in fundraising activities or other preparations for the trip.

• Overnight trips should offer significant educational benefits to students that clearly justify the time and expense of the trip. Such trips should be appropriate for the grade level.

• Teachers and other school staff are prohibited from soliciting privately run trips through the school system. The trip approval process should apply only to school-sanctioned trips; school committees should not approve trips that are privately organized and run without school sanctioning.

• Policies and procedures for trip approval should take into account all logistical details involving transportation, accommodations, fundraising required of students, and the educational value of the trip in relation to its costs.

Transportation

1. The use of vans or private automobiles for trips planned to include late-night or overnight student travel should generally be avoided. Such trips should generally use commercial motorcoaches.

2. Trips planned to include late-night or overnight student travel should involve pre-trip checks of companies, drivers, and vehicles.

3. School officials should ensure that the selected carrier is licensed for passenger transportation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The district should not contract with any carrier that has an FMCSA safety rating of "conditional" or "unsatisfactory." FMCSA carrier ratings are available on SAFER Web.

4. Districts that are unable to conduct their own in-depth reviews of bus carrier qualifications may elect to use ratings and pre-qualifications established by other public entities, such as the Department of Defense's approved list of motor carriers for troop transport.

5. The contract with the carrier should prohibit the use of a subcontractor unless sufficient notice is given to the district to allow verification of the subcontractor's qualifications.

Trip Scheduling

1. Overnight accommodations should be made in advance with student safety and security in mind. Whenever possible, the trip schedulers should avoid planning student travel between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m., due to the increased risk of vehicular accidents during this time period.

2. Whenever possible, overnight trips should be scheduled on weekends or during school vacations to minimize lost classroom time. Non-academic field trips are considered "optional school programs" and do not count toward meeting structured learning time requirements under 603 CMR 27.00. However, academic field trips may be considered structured learning time. School districts may consider travel for field trips as included in students' schedules, depending on the duration of the travel time.

3. Trip itineraries must leave enough time for drivers to rest in conformity with federal hour-of-service requirements and common sense.

4. Trip scheduling should take into account the likelihood of delays due to weather, traffic, stragglers, and other unanticipated factors.

5. If a substantial number of students in a class are participating in a trip, the school will provide appropriate substitute activities for any students not participating.

Fundraising

1. The amount of time to be devoted to fundraising will be reasonable and commensurate with students' obligations for homework, after-school activities, and jobs.

2. Group fundraising activities are preferred. Students should not be assigned individual fundraising targets.

3. If students are charged individual fees for participation, the district will make every effort to provide scholarships where needed.

     Student Supervision

1. Students shall be accompanied by a sufficient number of chaperones, taking into account the trip scheduling and logistics. All chaperones, including parents and volunteers, must have a CORI check in accordance with M.G.L. c.71 s.38R.

2. CORI checks are recommended but not required by law for bus drivers who do not regularly work for the school district and who will not have direct and unmonitored contact with students. If such checks cannot be done, a chaperone will always be present whenever students are on the bus.

3. All participating students must submit a signed parent/guardian permission form. Such forms shall include appropriate authorization for emergency medical care and administration of medication.

    Student Eligibility for Travel

Students must remain in good academic and behavioral standing in order to remain eligible for student travel. This includes but is not limited to:

1. Students must pass six of the seven courses in which they are enrolled. 

2. No major disciplinary infractions (suspensions or other offenses deemed serious/concerning by administration)

       Adherence with the attendance policy during the previous and current terms (no more than 6 unexcused class absences or 15 total class absences)

Eligibility is based on the marks from the previous term, with the exception of the fall when eligibility is based on the final course grades from the previous year.  Ineligibility takes effect the day report cards are issued, unless a waiver has been granted by the principal.

Students interested in attending an overnight trip  should check with their school counselor and/or the principal concerning eligibility status.