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5430 |
SCHOOL TRIPS |
5430 |
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School trips designed to stimulate student interest
and inquiry and to provide opportunities for educational growth and
development can be appropriate extensions of the classroom. To the extent
that a school trip provides a highly effective means for accomplishing the
objectives of the curriculum and that disruption of other classes is kept to
a minimum, it may be considered for approval. Additional criteria for
assessing the advisability of a proposed trip are the amount of school time
lost, issues of student safety and supervision, and any additional demands
placed upon student time to raise funds to finance the trip. |
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5430.1 |
The Superintendent shall be
responsible for development of procedures for the request and approval of
desired school trips. |
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5430.2 |
A school trip is defined as a
student or a group of students leaving a school campus under the sponsorship
of the school and under supervision of school employee(s) to extend
educational experiences consistent with the general goals and objectives of
the total school program. A school trip must be related to the curriculum of
the school or to a co-curricular activity (e.g., clubs, student
council). Any trip made by school
students which has not been approved by the board or school administration in
accordance with Policy 5430 shall not be considered to be a school trip. |
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5430.3 |
A non-school sponsored trip is
defined as a trip organized by a school employee acting as an independent
agent, without the sponsorship of the school or school system. School employees who organize non-school
sponsored trips involving school students must inform parents and students
that the trip is not sponsored by the school system and that the school
system and school officials assume no responsibility or liability for the
trip. The employee must notify the
employee’s supervisor and the principal(s) of the students involved in the
trip and provide documentation that the parental notice has been given. In addition, no school time, equipment or
facilities may be used to plan or organize non-school sponsored trips. |
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5430.4 |
Students should not be charged a
fee for any required class school trip for which credit is granted. All
assessments for voluntary class or co-curricular school trips shall be
closely scrutinized at the time the trip is approved. The sponsor of that
trip must certify to the school principal that provisions have been made for
group members unable to pay the assessment. |
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5430.5 |
The principal shall appoint a
committee of faculty members representing curricular and co-curricular areas
of the school to serve as the school trip committee. The principal or
designated administrator shall chair this committee. The committee shall review and consider for
approval all school trip requests. The committee shall ensure that all school
trips are an integral part of the curriculum, that student safety and
supervision needs have been addressed, that loss of school time is kept to a
minimum, and that provisions have been made for students unable to pay any
assessments for the trip. The
committee shall obtain input from all those on a staff who are affected by
such trips. The committee shall also
develop an annual plan for all school trips and provide the plan to the
appropriate area assistant superintendent with the school’s annual work plan. |
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5430.6 |
At the end of each school year,
the school trip committee shall present to the appropriate area assistant
superintendent a summary report of all school trip activity during that year. |
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5430.7 |
General guidelines for school
trips include: A. Elementary and middle school trips
shall not involve an overnight stay. B. Elementary and middle school trips
shall not exceed one hundred twenty-five (125) miles one way. C. Elementary and middle school trips
out of system shall not involve competitions or adjudications. Deviations from these guidelines
require prior approval of the area assistant superintendent. |
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5430.8 |
General guidelines for overnight
school trips include: A. Trips
that include male and female students shall have male and female chaperones. B. Student accident insurance shall
be in force on each student. |
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5430.9 |
Elementary school trips to
amusement parks are prohibited. Middle
and high school trips to amusement parks require prior approval of the area
assistant superintendent. No middle
and high school trip will be approved unless it provides a unique educational
opportunity that directly relates to the curriculum or to a co-curricular
activity. If the trip includes
multiple locations, all components of the trip must meet these requirements. |
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5430.10 |
School trips that involve water
related activities such as swimming, diving, boating, sailing, cruise ship
travel, etc. require prior approval of the area assistant
superintendent. No such trip will be
approved unless it provides a unique educational opportunity that directly
relates to the curriculum or to a co-curricular activity. In addition, a detailed plan to address
supervision and safety needs of students must be submitted. |
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5430.11 |
School trips out of the
continental |
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5430.12 |
Students remain subject to all
school and district policies and rules of conduct, including disciplinary
consequences, during the school trip. |
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5430.13 |
When privately-owned vehicles are
to be used for transporting students, parents of the students are to be
notified and the owner of the vehicles and the parents must acknowledge in
writing that they have received notice that the board's liability insurance
does not cover the use of private vehicles to transport students for school
activities. |
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5430.14 |
The parent/guardian should be
notified of any significant change in plans prior to the school trip. |
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5430.15 |
School trips may be cancelled when
necessary by the principal, Superintendent, or Board of Education. The school system cannot guarantee
reimbursement when such cancellations occur. |
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Legal
Reference: G.S. 115C-47 (4),(6) and G.S. 115C-276 (a) Adopted:
October 6, 1980 Revised:
October 22, 1984 Revised:
March 11, 1985 Revised:
September 21, 1987 Revised:
June 17, 1991 Revised: October 20, 1997 Revised:
June 30, 2003 |