Approval Date: November 12, 2019
Amended: September, 2023

FFC-Student Travel and Overnight Experiences Policy

Administrator Approval of Travel

The Student Travel and Tours policy shall be administered according to the following guidelines:

School Principal Approval

Principals shall be responsible for coordinating development of student activity and travel plans according to the following criteria:

Distance of Travel

Whenever possible, student activities shall be scheduled in close proximity to the local school and the need for long distance or overnight travel avoided.

Overnight Travel-Elementary and Middle Schools

Overnight travel shall not be included as part of the elementary and middle school educational program. Learning experiences away from the local school shall be provided by field trips during the school day. Overnight experiences may be approved when the experience is provided at the District’s Outdoor Learning Center.

Overnight Travel-High School and Activities Association

Overnight travel may be part of the educational program for high school students when the travel is for an activity sponsored by the Utah High School Activities Association, a state or nationally affiliated educational organization, or an approved school program.

Overnight Travel-High School Sponsor

Overnight travel may be part of the educational program for high school students when the anticipated educational benefits warrant the required expenditures, comparable experiences are not available at the local school, and the travel costs will not burden families unduly.

Abiding by High School Activities Association Rules

Schools shall abide by the regulations governing intrastate competitions outlined in the Utah High School Activities Association bylaws.

Limit to Travel Time

Each school shall be limited to a total of overnight travel experiences during the academic year where such travel necessitates missing days of school. No individual event shall cause a student to miss more then two (2) consecutive days of school. (Special circumstances requiring additional days from school for valid educational purposes may be appealed to the Board of Education.) (i.e. Close Up, approved national competitions)

Student Organization Travel

Student organizations shall be limited to one overnight travel experience per year. An exception may be granted for elected student leaders in each applied technology organization. An exception may also be granted to an individual student or group of students if winning at the local, state, or national level provides an invitation to compete at the next level of competition sponsored by the same organization or entity.

Supervision

Supervision for student travel must be provided at a ratio of one (1) responsible adult per fifteen (15) students. Supervisors shall be primarily teachers/advisors and parents. A minimum of one supervisor must be a district employee.

Payment of Travel Expenses

All expenses associated with the trip must be paid by the participants themselves, covered by fund raising, or financed by vocational or other state or federal monies provided expressly for the activity. School student body funds may not be used. All funds must be received prior to travel or expenditure of funds for such travel.

The district will pay for employee chaperones in order to provide the established minimum chaperone student ratio of 1:15. These individuals must be employed by the Logan City School District.

Transportation Methods

Transportation shall be by commercial carrier, or by School District Transportation services, for all overnight travel. No private aircraft may be used for student travel. Ground transportation guidelines are as follows:

Only those commercial carriers licensed to operate in Utah shall be used.
No private vehicles may be used in overnight travel or school sponsored excursions which exceed 150 miles one way. Parents or legal guardians wishing to transport their own children, with the approval of the administration and/or the team coach/adviser, will not be under the jurisdiction of the School District.

Commercially rented buses or other modes of ground transportation may be used upon arrival at destination. If the destination is over 150 miles one way, a commercial carrier, with a professional operator, must be utilized. Travel waivers of liability must be properly filled out and on file for all travel.
Local student travel of less than 150 miles one way shall adhere to the following provisions:

District bus transportation is the preferred method of transporting students. A parent/guardian must sign the school’s Field Trip Permission form for each field trip or athletic event, which grants permission to his/her student to ride district buses.

Classes that have multiple field trips during the year may include all of those experiences on a single Field Trip Permission form for a parent/guardian to sign
At the start of an athletic season, a school may have parents sign a single Field Trip Permission form which includes all team competitions in which their child participates as a member of that team.
Use of private vehicles for school-related travel is strongly discouraged. If a private vehicle is used for student travel, the driver must be twenty-one (21) years of age or older and be free of convictions for alcohol or other substance abuse violations and must complete School District's Vehicle Owner/Driver Waiver of Liability form (Disclaimer). The completed form must be filed with the activity coach/advisor or school's administration in advance.

The driver/owner of the private vehicle must ensure the vehicle is covered by liability insurance. The driver of the private vehicle and all passengers must complete the Waiver of Liability Form which must be on file in advance.
The driver is required to complete the State Risk Management defensive driver training

UHSAA Handbook-150 Mile Contest Approval Procedure, Catastrophic Insurance Procedure
State Risk Management: Large capacity passenger vehicle safety protocol

Request for Travel

Requests for overnight student experiences or travel of 150 miles or more shall be submitted to the superintendent or designee by April 1 of the current school year for review and approval by the Board. Requests for overnight travel or travel of 150 miles or more for athletic competitions shall be approved by the Board no later than 30 days before the start of the athletic season. The request shall include:

The name of the group requesting permission to travel.
The objectives of the trip.
The proposed destination, mode of travel, and number of students involved.
The number of school days missed. These may not exceed two (2) except in special circumstances, as approved by the Board of Education (i.e. Close Up, approved national competitions).
The estimated cost of the trip and mode of payment, including a summary of proposed fund raising activities and Fund Raising Authorization Forms.
A list of advisors and adult supervisors.
The principal's signature of approval. (Cannot be a designee.)

Exceptions to the above requirements include:

Board approval is not required for team travel to UHSAA state playoff competitions.
Non athletic student travel opportunities that were not presented to the Board by the April 1 deadline must be submitted to the Superintendent's office at least forty-five (45) days prior to the proposed trip, and include the same information in the request, and why the exception is requested.
Overnight excursions to the Outdoor Learning Center, may be approved by the Superintendent and reported to the Board.

Parental Notice and Approval

Once a travel request is approved by the appropriate administrator or Board of Education, a meeting shall be held at the school for parents of potential student participants. The principal or student advisor shall review the proposed travel itinerary, anticipated per student costs, and fund raising options.

Parents shall be given the opportunity to approve or disapprove the proposed travel plan.

No Penalites

Students who, for any reason, do not participate in activity travel shall not be penalized. Nonparticipation shall not impact grades or the student's status in the class or organization.

Privately Sponsored Tours

Privately sponsored and commercial student tours:

An employee must purchase advertising space to advertise an activity in a publication that accepts advertising, whether or not sponsored by schools in the school district or by the school district. Such publications include school newspapers, but not school newsletters. Unless the activity is sponsored by the school district, the advertisement shall state clearly that the activity is not sponsored by the school or school district.
Employees affiliated with private tour agencies are prohibited from using students as a captive audience for soliciting tour participation.
School facilities, supplies, and equipment may not be used for the purpose of advertising privately sponsored tour participants.
Tour agencies may rent building space in accordance with Policy.

Post-Graduate Travel

District schools shall not sponsor activity travel for post-graduate students such as graduation trips, music tours, etc.

Policies Regarding Staff Conduct

District policies and procedures that relate to staff, students, volunteers, and chaperones will be in force for the duration of all travel and field trip activities.

Privartely Sponsored Tours

Employees affiliated with private tour agencies are prohibited from using:

Class time for soliciting tour participation, thereby using students as a captive audience.
Education records or information obtained through employment with the District unless the records have been made available to the general public.
School facilities, digital networks, supplies, and equipment for the purpose of advertising privately sponsored tours.

School employees may:

Use directories that are available to the general public (i.e. high school phone directories distributed to the general public) to identify prospective clients.
Purchase advertising space to advertise an activity in a publication that accepts advertising, including a school newspaper.

Any advertisement shall state clearly that the activity is not sponsored by the school or the District.

Tour agencies may rent building space in accordance with district policy.