Field Trips

Field trips are educational journeys away from school premises that require official approval. Note that school-sponsored trips for co-curricular activities or class trips have separate guidelines.

Trip Approvals

Daytime, curriculum-focused trips and after-school, same-day excursions need Principal approval.
Overnight trips, whether for curriculum or extracurricular activities, require Board of Education approval.
Field trips involving costs to students (like admission tickets) can be approved by the Principal if:
- No student is excluded due to financial need.
- All students in a class are required to participate unless a parent does not grant permission.
- The trip is a core part of the class curriculum.

Application Details

All field trip applications must include:

Proposed date (with alternate dates) and checked against the school calendar.
Destination description and its relevance.
Connection to curriculum goals.
Location and route.
Transportation details, estimated cost, and safe loading/unloading areas.
Departure and estimated return times.
Emergency and restroom provisions.
Any admission fees or tolls.
Meal arrangements, if needed.

Reasons for Denial

The Principal may deny a field trip request if:

The application is incomplete.
The cost is too high.
The trip’s connection to the curriculum is weak.
Students would be out of class for too long.
The trip conflicts with other events or bus availability.
The class has used its fair share of field trips.
The return time is later than 11:00 p.m.
It falls during an exam period or just before the end of a marking period.
The destination or activity is unsuitable for the students’ age.

Overnight trip requests need preliminary Principal approval before being submitted to the Board of Education. Teachers will receive written approval or denial, with reasons provided for denials. Students with a history of disruptive behavior may be excluded from trips. Teachers can only ask students to participate in day trips once approved by the Principal or Superintendent. All overnight trips must be approved by the October Board of Education meeting.

Planning and Preparation

Teachers planning a field trip should:

Clearly define educational objectives linked to the curriculum.
Assign at least one staff chaperone for every 15 students.
Obtain a parent permission slip for each student.
Make arrangements for students not attending or for classes of chaperoning teachers.
Keep restaurant costs minimal and avoid trips centered solely on a meal.
Schedule trips before Memorial Day weekend.
Ensure constant supervision of all students.
Provide a complete list of participating students, including parent home and work phone numbers, to the attendance office.
Consider any unusual medical needs of participants.
File a detailed report with the Principal after the trip, including the number of students, unusual incidents, unexpected expenses, and an evaluation of the trip’s value.

For Overnight Trips:

Provide a detailed daily itinerary with contact information for students.
Prepare documents for chaperones to secure medical and legal assistance if needed.
Do not raise funds or commit money until the trip is approved by the Board.

On the Day of the Trip:

If weather is bad, check with the Principal, who may cancel or postpone the trip. Inform chaperones promptly if canceled.
Take attendance and provide a roster of departing students to the Principal.
Confirm all assigned chaperones are present and ready.
Ensure all students use the arranged transportation to the destination, unless the Principal pre-approves an exception for direct arrival.
Take all reasonable steps to maximize educational benefit.
Do not change the itinerary unless it’s an emergency.
Ensure all students leave the destination by the arranged transportation, unless an emergency or pre-approved exception by the Principal.
If returning after school hours, confirm the Principal or a designated emergency coordinator will remain at school until all students are picked up or safely depart.

Chaperones

The teacher in charge selects and trains chaperones, choosing responsible and dependable individuals comfortable with the students’ age group. The district will cover chaperone expenses similar to student and teacher expenses.

Chaperones are assigned to specific student groups and are responsible for their well-being. Students must never be left unsupervised; if a chaperone must leave their group, they should arrange for another staff member or chaperone to cover for them.

Smoking and alcohol use are forbidden for both students and chaperones. Before arriving at the destination, chaperones should inform their assigned students about expected conduct, departure times, and other important trip details like meals and restrooms. Chaperones should help manage student behavior and report any significant or ongoing disciplinary issues to the teacher.

Emergencies

In case of an emergency during a field trip:

School bus emergencies follow specific bus safety procedures.
If a student is lost or missing, and reasonable search efforts fail, the teacher must call the Principal (or Assistant Principal if unavailable) within 30 minutes for instructions.
For a medical emergency, the teacher must call for first aid or ambulance services immediately and report it to the Principal. A full written report of the emergency and actions taken must be filed with the Principal within 24 hours.
If a delay means students will return to school later than expected and after school hours, the teacher must call the Principal or designated emergency coordinator as soon as an estimated arrival time is known. The Principal or coordinator will then inform parents, make school facilities available for waiting parents, answer incoming calls, and confirm all students have safely departed.

Overnight Trips

Any trip involving an overnight stay requires specific Board approval, following the approval procedures mentioned earlier. All guidelines outlined in this document apply to overnight trips.

Students and parents may be required to attend a meeting to learn about the trip’s purpose, itinerary, departure/return times, accommodations, rules, required items, and costs.

Foreign Field Trips

For group foreign travel planned by teachers:

There should be one chaperone for every ten students (rounding up).
A minimum of two chaperones is required.
For trips with fewer than 16 students, chaperones must cover additional costs unless approved by the Superintendent.
A committee will review proposed trips each fall before they are presented to the Board.
Before departure, chaperones will remind students, in the presence of parents, that all school conduct rules remain in effect.
The trip coordinator is responsible for communicating the district’s student code of conduct to host families.

Follow-up and Evaluation

The teacher in charge should thank chaperones, destination officials, guides, and anyone else who helped with the trip.

To integrate the field trip into learning, the teacher should:

Lead discussions and critical evaluations of the experience.
Encourage creative projects based on trip themes.
Test students on new information or perspectives gained.
Assign written reports or presentations.

Finally, the teacher will help the Principal evaluate the trip by submitting a written report detailing its benefits and drawbacks, considering if the destination was appropriate, if sufficient background materials were provided, if new understandings were fostered, how it related to other learning, if information was accurate, if students faced any hazards, if the time and expense were worthwhile, any conduct problems, and its impact on school-community relations.

For further clarification, please refer to the North Hunterdon-Voorhees District & Board of Education Policies and Regulations.