Extended Field Trips are trips that occur out-of-state or require students to be accommodated overnight. All extended field trips, including enrichment, must have advance approval of the Marlborough School Committee.

This policy does not apply to trips required for student participation in school-related tournament competition or contests.

Extended field trips shall provide a valuable educational learning experience and be consistent with and reflect district curriculum. The Superintendent or his/her designee will be responsible for determining whether these criteria are met. The cost of extended field trips will not be the responsibility of the school district.

Teachers and other school personnel are not permitted to solicit for privately run trips through the school district and in the schools. The School Committee will review only Superintendent recommended trips. The School Committee will not review or approve trips that are privately organized and run without recommendation of the Superintendent.

Attendance on an extended field trip is not a student’s right, but a privilege. All rules and regulations specified in the student handbook will be in effect throughout the trip.

I. Trip Approval Process for Extended Field Trips

A. Preliminary Approval

Advisors will develop a trip proposal, which must include educational benefits/

objectives and their relation to state standards and the educational value in relation to the cost... The proposal shall be presented to the building principal and to the Superintendent for preliminary approval. Preliminary approval must be granted prior to the announcement of the trip to students or parents. Preliminary approval authorizes the advisor to determine student and parent interest, to acquire cost information, and generally assess the feasibility of the trip.

B. Formal Approval

The School Committee must have approved the trip before any contractual arrangements are made or any trip-specific fundraising occurs. School Committee approval must be secured at least 6 weeks before the proposed extended field trip, or as soon as possible based upon an invitation.

If there are extenuating circumstances and the requested timeline cannot be met, approval may be granted and reported out by the Superintendent.

II. Transportation

Trips planned to include late night or overnight student travel will include a pre-check of companies, drivers and vehicles. CORI checks for all non-MPS attendees will be conducted in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, section 38R.

The Superintendent or designee will ensure that the selected carrier is licensed for passenger transportation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The district will not contract with any carrier that has a safety rating of "conditional" or "unsatisfactory". FMCSA ratings are available at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/company-safety-records

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

The contract with the carrier will prohibit the use of subcontractors unless sufficient notice is given to the district that allows verification of the subcontractor's qualifications.

III. Trip Scheduling

Overnight trips should be scheduled after regular school hours, on weekends or during school vacations to minimize interference with structured learning time.

Non-academic field trips are considered "optional school programs" and do not count toward meeting structured time on learning requirements.

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

The school should provide appropriate substitute activities for any students not participating.

IV. Finances

A. Advisor(s) and District shall make reasonable efforts to arrange for scholarships or alternative funding sources to provide an equal opportunity for students to participate that otherwise would be excluded because of financial hardship.

B. Fundraising should not interfere with a student's obligation toward homework or co-curricular activities and should be conducted in keeping with the guidelines of the school and the policies of the district.

C. Group fundraising activities are preferred to individual activities.

V. Trip Requirements

A. Students with disabilities shall be provided full and equal opportunity for participation in extended field trips.

B. The District shall obtain criminal offender record information (“CORI”) from all

Chaperones and the Chaperones shall get Fingerprinted, as expected, per the Volunteer & Chaperones for Schools Policy.

C. If a student requires the administration of prescription medication during an extended field trip, the medication shall be administered in a manner consistent with District policy.

D. Trip cancellation insurance and travel accident insurance is encouraged by MPS to be purchased by all participants on the trip (students, chaperones, and advisors).

E. The Superintendent or his/her designee reserves the right to cancel or modify any extended field trip up until the time of departure.

F. Teachers or staff who arrange for extended field trips using tour companies shall comply with all state ethics laws.

G. MPS Administration in collaboration with the School Committee may cancel the trip should there be any potential threat that is deemed detrimental to the students.

Legal Reference:

Approved: 6/25/13

Approved: 10/9/18

Approved: 7/24/24

Approved: 2/11/25