FIELD TRIPS AND EXCURSIONS

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION - 6153

Conditions to be Met by all Approved Field Trips

Requests for school-sponsored trips involving out-of-state, overnight travel, air travel or solicitation of funds in excess of $3,500 shall be submitted to the Superintendent or designee. The Superintendent or designee shall review and make a recommendation to the Board as to whether the request should be approved by the Board. All other school-sponsored trips shall be approved in advance by the principal.

District sponsored travel is limited to destinations within the United States. Travel outside of the United States must be provided by a non-district sponsor and must meet the conditions set forth in Section L below.

The principal shall establish a process for approving a staff member’s request to conduct a school-sponsored field trip. When planning trips, staff shall consider student safety, objectives of instruction, the most effective use of instructional time, the distance from school, expense, and transportation and supervision requirements.  All multi-class (e.g. grade-level based) field trips and excursions shall include all students within the relevant group, regardless of the student’s class assignment or participation in a special program. Individualized participation consideration shall be given, as applicable, to students with Individualized Education Programs, Section 504 Plans, or any other approved individualized plan. For any field trip or excursion, the principal may exclude from the trip any student whose presence would pose a safety or disciplinary risk. Prior to excluding a student, the principal or designee shall meet with the parent/guardian of the student to be excluded to discuss the reasons for exclusion and possible options in lieu of exclusion.

All school-sponsored field trips must meet the following conditions:

Conditions:

A. Instruction

Appropriate instruction as part of the course shall precede and follow each educational field trip. Educational field trips shall be considered as instruction and planned as such with definite learning objectives determined in advance. (This requirement precludes educational field trips from approval if proposed between school years.)

B. Participation/Expenses

No group shall be authorized to take a field trip or excursion if a student member of said group is excluded from participation in the trip because of the lack of sufficient funds. In the event an individual cannot raise the funds, a scholarship or other form of financial support shall be provided. Substitute teachers costs shall be included as an expense and covered by fees or funds raised for the trip.

Consistent with the District’s policy on nondiscrimination, no student shall be excluded from participation in a field trip or excursion based on the student's actual or perceived characteristics such as race or ethnicity, color, ancestry, national origin, nationality, ethnic group identification, immigration status, age, religion, actual or potential parental, family, or marital status. Nor shall any person be excluded because of pregnancy or related condition, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or genetic information; the perception of one or more of such characteristics; or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.

C. Transportation

All arrangements for transportation of students shall be made through the transportation director or his/her designee. The Transportation Department shall ensure that buses and drivers assigned to any field trip or excursion have the proper certification and insurance. No other district employee should arrange for transportation of students by district vehicle or common carrier. The school official in charge of the field trip may request a specific carrier on the "Request for Transportation" form.

Students participating in an off-campus activity must travel in both directions on the transportation approved by the district. Exceptions are made only on a pre-approved basis.

Transportation to athletic events is generally provided through the Athletic Base Program. The exception is for contests that have a start time at 5:00 p.m. or later within league or for contests on the weekend. In these instances, transportation both to and from the event is the responsibility of the family. 

Certificated personnel responsible for student supervision shall work in cooperation with the driver in the enforcement of special regulations and reasonable student conduct.

All sellers of air or sea travel are required at or before the time of sale to conform to the disclosure conditions outlined in SB 142. Note that the conditions are different for sellers of travel located outside the state of California than for those located inside the state. (Sample disclosure language is available form the State Attorney General's Office.)

D. Parent Approval

All participating students must have parent signed field trip approval forms. Students traveling in a private vehicle to/from a field trip may request a specific carrier on the "Request for Non-district Transportation Notice and Waiver and Release of All Transportation Claims" form.

E. Alternate Experience

Appropriate educational experience and proper supervision shall be supplied for any pupils whose parents do not wish them to participate in a field trip.

F. Supervision

Teachers or other certificated personnel shall accompany students on all field trips and shall assume responsibility for their proper conduct. Supervision of students involved in field trips or excursions shall include an adequate number of certificated district employees as determined by the district.

Appropriate levels of supervision are contextual, depending upon the age of the student, location being visited, mode of transportation, etc. Adequate levels of supervision shall be determined and approved by the principal after reviewing the specifics of a given trip. In cases of doubt, principals are directed to insist on increased adult supervision. Adult supervisors may include parents who are not necessarily district employees.

Trips involving air travel or overnight accommodations shall adhere to the following average adult/student ratios:

Grades 4-8

1:8

Grades 9-12

1:12

Unique situations may be reviewed and approved by the Assistant Superintendent, Education Services.

Students are to remain under the care and supervision of the assigned adult. Students shall not be permitted to leave the supervision of the assigned adult during or after a field trip or excursion without the approval of the school official.

Students are to be informed of the return time. Students are to be on time, ready to leave as directed by the field trip supervisor. If, for any reason, a student is unable to leave as directed, the supervisor shall have an adult remain behind and assist the student in contacting their parent. The parent will be expected to pick up the student in a timely manner, as well as return the adult supervisor to the school.

If, for any reason, the parent or guardian is unable to pick up his/her student, the parent will be responsible to pay the costs of the most convenient public transportation, for both the student and the supervisor, back to the school. If the parents or guardians do not pick up their student at school in a timely manner, they will be responsible for the cost of the most convenient public transportation to the student's home and for returning the supervisor to the school.

If the supervisor determines a satisfactory solution cannot be achieved in returning the student to his/her home, an appropriate agency will be contacted and asked to assist the student.

When a field trip is made to a place of business or industry, the teachers shall insist that an employee of the host company serve as conductor.

G. Compensation

Teacher supervisors of school or district sponsored trips may not accept compensation in any form from an outside agency. If the outside sponsoring agency pays for the IUSD staff member's cost of the trip, the staff member must make that arrangement clear to all participants.

H. Field Trips Requiring Prior Approval of the Board of Education

Trips or excursions by student groups involving any of the following require submission to the Board of Education for approval.

  1. overnight accommodations

  2. air travel

  3. destinations outside the State of California or trips requiring the solicitation of funds in excess of $3,500.00 (total)

I. Limits on Overnight Trips for Student Groups

  1. Each performing group or athletic team shall be limited each school year to one overnight trip that is within a 500 mile radius. This limit shall not apply to CIF post-season playoffs, nor to successful competitions that entitle the group to compete at the next level, nor to a single national competition annually for pep squad and pageantry groups. *Groups that have limited access to local competitions/events may take additional trips with prior approval by the site principal or designee and the District office. 

  2. For a school-based summer program group other than those defined above, annual overnight trips shall be limited to one.

  3. The educational benefit of the trip must balance both the educational value and the impact of time away from regular classes for both students and staff.

J. Liability/Insurance

All persons making a field trip, or excursion shall be deemed to have waived all claims against the district or the State of California in case of injury, accident, illness, or death occurring during or by reason of the field trip, or excursion. All adults participating in out-of-state lead trips, or excursions and all parents or guardians of pupils taking out-of-state trips or excursions shall sign a statement waiving such claims and assuring primary coverage.

The Board of Education will make available medical or hospital insurance to students participating in field trips, or excursions. The student insurance made available to parents at the beginning of each year shall fulfill the district's obligation.

The cost of the insurance beyond normal insurance carried by the district shall be paid for by the student, parent, or guardian.

Parents or other adults may drive private cars with the understanding that drivers are licensed and carry current liability insurance. Further, the drivers understand and accept that their liability policy provides the primary coverage, and that the district liability policy covers any liability beyond the financial limits of the driver's policy.

K. Insurance

Minimum insurance is required for any parent or guardian driving a student to or from a school sponsored activity.

Insurance minimums:

  • Bodily Injury $100,000/300,000 per accident

  • Property Damage $50,000 per accident

  • Medical Payments $5,000 per accident

  • Un/under insured $100,000/300,000 per accident

L. Student Field Trips, Tours, and Excursions Not Meeting Guidelines

For school-based trips that do not meet the above criteria for required Board approval:

  1. parents will be required to sign a release form to acknowledge the lack of district involvement in the field trip

  2. school employees shall be precluded from using school facilities at any time

  3. communicating with parents or students during the normal school day is prohibited

  4. school channels of communication, e.g., school bulletins or newsletters, public address announcements, school letterhead, posting, etc. shall not be used

  5. the school name shall not be used as part of the title of such a group

  6. teachers shall not be released from regular teaching duties

  7. no school personnel or procedures shall be involved in the collection or processing of funds

  8. no checks shall be made payable to any school, school organization or staff member

  9. no expenses of school staff and/or of pupils participating in a field trip or excursion shall be paid with school district funds unless the field trip is required as part of an approved program

M. Homeland Security Advisory Warning

The safety and security of students under the care of the Irvine Unified School District is of paramount concern. As Irvine Unified School District continues to receive threat level warnings from the National Terrorism Advisory System, incremental precautions will be implemented to protect the safety of students. Principals, in conjunction with district personnel, will determine the appropriateness of school events, activities, and field trips based on the following threat level recommendations.

  • Elevated threat alert is a high risk of terrorist attacks.

    • All school events, day or evening, will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

    • Trips outside of Orange County may be limited to those from which students can return at a reasonable time in the event of a crisis.

    • Field trips may be canceled to venues which have significant attendance on any given day (i.e., Disneyland, Angel Stadium, Anaheim Convention Center, etc.)

    • All overnight field trips may be cancelled.

    • Sixth grade camp will be permitted unless advised otherwise.

    • All trips to international destinations will be cancelled.

  • Imminent threat alert is a severe risk of terrorist attacks.

    • All school events outside the regularly scheduled school day will be subject to cancellation, and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

    • All field trips shall be subject to cancellation.

    • A trip will be permitted only if students on a field trip can return at a reasonable time in the event of a crisis.

    • Field trips will not be permitted to venues which have significant attendance on any given day (i.e., Disneyland, Angel Stadium, Anaheim Convention Center, etc.)

    • All overnight field trips will be cancelled.

    • Sixth grade camp shall be subject to cancellation; students already at camp may be returned home.

    • All trips to international destinations will be canceled.

Non-district Transporation Notice

Field Trip Application

Revised March 1997
Revised April 2003
Revised June 2004
Revised July 2006
Revised September 2009
Revised July 2015
Revised August 2017
Revised February 2019