Student Excursions 2012 - Halton District School Board

Halton District School Board
Administrative Procedure
TOPIC:
Student Excursions
EFFECTIVE: September 2011
CROSS-REFERENCE: Education Act,
Volunteer Handbook,
P.H.E. Safety Guidelines,
Accident Reporting Flow Chart,
School Generated and School Council Funds Admin Procedure,
Student Fees Administrative Procedure
REVISION DATE: September 2013
RESPONSIBILITY:
Family of Schools Superintendent
INTENDED PURPOSE:
The Halton District School Board recognizes the importance of out-of-classroom experiences, which
reinforce concepts learned in the classroom, provide for new and unique learning experiences, provide
valuable cultural perspectives and make learning more interesting and relevant for students. The Halton
District School Board also recognizes that such experiences may involve extended periods of time and
travel outside the Halton area.
OBJECTIVES:
The Halton District School Board Student Excursions Administrative Procedure is intended to:
Ensure excursions have curricular relevance or a direct relation to ongoing co-curricular or athletic
activities sanctioned by the Halton District School Board;
Ensure excursions offered to students provide reasonable value for cost;
Ensure processes are in place to ensure the safety of students and staff involved in excursions;
Ensure no student is excluded from an excursion due to an inability to pay.
DEFINITIONS:
Excursions are defined as off-site activities that include overnight travel and/or accommodation. These
may or may not include studies that may lead to a full or partial secondary school credit.
The following activities may be classified as either ‘Field Trip’ (refer to Halton District School Board
Field Trips and In-School Presentations Administrative Procedure) or ‘Excursion’ depending on their
duration:
Performances: activities that provide students with a unique opportunity to showcase their
talents.
Competitions: activities that provide students with an opportunity to compete against students
from other schools.
Short-Term Exchanges are defined as opportunities for Halton students to visit with students in another
part of Ontario, Canada or the world, and in return to host those students. Such exchanges generally last
for a few days to a few weeks, involve a group of students travelling together with chaperones, and have
a cultural focus. Short-term exchanges in which a group of students visits a host community for a fixed
period and in turn host students from that community, are considered to be excursions.

Long-Term Exchanges, as defined in the Education Act, Section 49(7)a, are arranged by the individual
student and his/her family and therefore do not fall under the scope of this policy.
Student Holiday Travel is defined as commercially organized and sponsored travel opportunities for
students, which are scheduled outside the normal school attendance days (Christmas, March Break,
summer) and are not specifically connected to the curricular or co-curricular program.
"Student Holiday Travel" is not supported in any way by the Halton District School Board.
No Halton District School Board employee shall solicit, encourage, promote or communicate
anything about "Student Holiday Travel" during regular work hours.
Halton District School Board property will not be available for any organization promoting
"Student Holiday Travel".
Any Halton District School Board employee who chooses to organize "Student Holiday Travel"
should be aware that regular work duties immediately prior to and following the vacation period
must be fulfilled. Should the employee be unable to fulfill his/her work responsibilities due to
"Student Holiday Travel", this may result in disciplinary action.
Any staff member arranging student holiday travel shall not use any Halton District School Board
forms or any correspondence that may be perceived by a parent to be approved by the Halton
District School Board.
Any staff member arranging student holiday travel acknowledges that the Halton District School
Board liability policy will not provide coverage in the event of a third party liability loss.
Any staff member who suffers an injury during Student Holiday Travel will not be covered by
Worker’s Safety and Insurance Board benefits.
Semester turnaround is included as part of the 194 instructional days on the school calendar and is
not a vacation period for students or staff.
A Supervisor or Chaperone is an individual who has reached the age of 18 and has agreed to assist in
the supervision of a group of students. Supervisors must have a current Criminal Background Check
with Vulnerable Sector Screening on file with the Halton District School Board. At least one supervisor
on every excursion must be an employee of the Halton District School Board. Chaperones may not
receive remuneration for their services beyond being offered free transportation and accommodation
during an excursion.
PROCEDURES:
The Halton District School Board supports the participation of staff and students in extended excursions
where the purpose of such excursions is to enhance classroom learning, enrich co-curricular activities, or
provide cultural experiences directly related to specific school goals.
The Halton District School Board expects all essential in class learning activities will be provided
without cost to students, and that out of classroom activities during school hours must be available to all
students in a designated class, grade or course, and be charged on a cost-recovery basis only, allowing
for rounding to the nearest dollar for ease of money-handling.
Where warranted, a fee may be charged to recover the cost of supply teachers for excursions occurring
over several days.
Where fees change after collection of funds from students resulting in a surplus of less than $20.00 per
student, those funds may be retained in the Field Trip category to provide alternate experiences; for
surpluses of over $20.00 per student, the surplus funds must be returned to parents by a refund pro-rated
to the portion of the field trip cost paid by each parent or via an alternate benefit to the affected students.

The Halton District School Board expects that the cost to students for excursions will accurately reflect
all incentives being offered by third party providers. All such incentives must be used to directly benefit
the students taking part in the excursion. All financial incentives must be payable to the school, never to
an individual teacher or supervisor involved with the excursion.
The services of McTavish Travel may be used to book travel and accommodations for excursions.
McTavish will not book excursions that require tour guides or chaperones that meet students at various
points on their trip. In this case the school should use a reputable excursion company that specializes in
student travel.
In the situation where the service provider (airline, hotel, etc. ) is unable to invoice the school for the
costs of the excursion, the services of McTavish Travel shall be used to book travel and
accommodations. When McTavish Travel is used a copy of the Excursion Approval by Superintendent
Form must be submitted to the Accounting Analyst in Business Services to facilitate payment.
Coach bus rentals for excursions must be made using a Halton Student Transportation Services approved
operator or McTavish Travel.
Renting vehicles exposes the employee’s personal insurance policies to a claim for any damage or injury
which occurs while the vehicle is in their custody or control. Once limits of the employee’s personal
policy are exhausted, the Halton District School Board’s non-owned automobile liability endorsement
will provide excess coverage. Staff must purchase the Deductible Waiver or Collision Damage
Coverage from the rental agency when renting vehicles.
The Halton District School Board will not be responsible for any insurance deductible or premium
adjustment as the result of an accident while the personal or rented vehicle is being used on boardrelated
business.
The Halton District School Board also expects schools to make alternate provisions which provide an
equivalent learning experience for students choosing not to take part in optional activities, and to have a
plan for supplementing the cost of activities where that cost would cause a student financial hardship.
Student activities should not be scheduled on Professional Activity or other identified staff learning
days, however it is acceptable for excursions to span normal holiday periods (March Break, Christmas)
with the understanding that participating staff will not be remunerated in any way for their voluntary
supervision/chaperoning of such excursions. Exceptions may be approved by the School
Superintendent.
The Halton District School Board expects that at least one Supervisor for every excursion must be a
teacher or administrator of the Halton District School Board. The ratio of staff, supervisors and
chaperones to students on a day field trip or an extended trip should be decided with the following
considerations in mind:
• risk factors inherent in out-of-school experiences. (e.g. hiking, swimming, rope-climbing, traffic)
• number of students attending the trip
• age and maturity of students
• familiarity or lack of familiarity with the trip experience/environment (different language, culture, laws)
The Halton District School Board reserves the right to exclude students whom the Principal determines
should not attend the trip.
The Halton District School Board reserves the right to cancel excursions where, in the opinion of the
Board, the level of actual or potential risk has increased due to events or circumstances in the intended
destination or on a global level. In such instances, the Board assumes no responsibility for any financial
loss incurred by participants.

The Halton District School Board expects each Family of Schools Superintendent to:
1. Review the Annual Proposed Field Trip, Presentation & Excursion Plan (Appendix A) submitted by
the Principals of each of their schools and return the approved or modified list to those Principals
by October 15th of each school year
2. Review the details submitted on the Excursion Approval by Superintendent Form (Appendix D)
prior to approving or denying any requests for student excursions.
3. Approve or deny, as required, any requests for ad hoc excursions which schools may wish to add
during the course of the year
The Halton District School Board expects each school Principal to:
1. Consult with the school community prior to conducting an excursion. This may occur through
personal contact with the School Council and/or parents affected, or through a survey. The decision
as to who will undertake such consultation will be made by the Principal. It must be made clear
that such consultation does not suggest that the activity will, in fact, occur.
2. Consider the following guiding principles related to financial impact on families before approving
a trip:
a. The Principal and teachers should have a clear understanding of parental interest and
commitment to the out-of-school experience
b. There must be an awareness of and respect for the financial and educational priorities
articulated by the school community in relation to a particular trip
c. The trip should offer reasonable value for cost
d. Participation by all students should be the goal
e. No student will be excluded from the day field trip or extended trip due to an inability to pay
3. Submit to the appropriate Family of Schools Superintendent, by the end of October of each school
year, a plan which
a. considers the educational value of the proposed field trip / presentation and ensures that the
activity is planned, organized and communicated
b. includes all Day Field Trips, Presentations and Excursions detailing the curricular relevance,
cost, sources of revenue, timing, destination, type of supervision and transportation method
for the event, and planned communication. For excursions, detailed information must be
submitted using the Excursion Approval by Superintendent Form(Appendix D)
c. includes input from the School Council where appropriate
4. Inform the parents of the school/community on a timely basis, the annual excursions approved.
5. Assume responsibility within School Generated Funds for all money collected to offset the costs
of Excursions and for the custody, expenditure and accountability of those funds in accordance
with the Board's School Generated & School Council Funds Administrative Procedure, unless
payments are made directly to an accredited, board-approved company providing excursion
services.
6. SECONDARY ONLY: Submit to the appropriate Family of Schools Superintendent, by the end
of January of each school year, an Annual Proposed Field Trip, Presentation & Excursion Plan for
any term 2 secondary activities which were not included on the original October submission.
7. Receive formal approval for any additional ad hoc excursions being considered during the school
year.

The Halton District School Board expects each teacher planning an excursion to:
1. Submit to the Principal, by September 21 st of each school year, a complete list of proposed
excursions for the school year, complete with a budget including confirmation of costs and
proposed sources of revenue for each proposed excursion. The exception is athletic excursions,
which may be dependent upon variable team schedules, tournament opportunities and team
standings for playoffs.
a. For excursions, detailed information must be submitted using the Excursion Costing
Form (Appendix B)
b. Excursion costs must reflect all incentives being offered by third party providers. All
such incentives must be used to directly benefit the students taking part in the excursion.
All financial incentives must be payable to the school, never to an individual teacher or
supervisor involved with the excursion.
2. Ensure that travel agencies contracted to provide excursions are registered with TICO
3. Submit to the appropriate office staff a minimum of 2 months prior to any approved excursion, a
copy of the Excursion Costing Form (Appendix B), Excursion Planning Checklist (Appendix C)
and approved Excursion Approval by Superintendent Form (Appendix D) , to allow generation
of permission letters and blank medical information forms to be sent home to parents.
4. Collect funds from students and submit them to the office in accordance with the Halton District
School Board School Generated and School Council Funds Administrative Procedure, unless
payments are made directly to an accredited, board-approved company providing excursion
services.
5. Collect and track student permission letters and medical information forms and ensure that all
relevant paperwork is safeguarded and accompanies students on the excursion.
6. Ensure that there are an adequate number of supervisors for the excursion, at least one of which
must be a teacher or administrator employed by the Halton District School Board.
7. Arrange transportation in accordance with administrative procedures. A bus/car manifest must
be completed and left at the school prior to departing for off-site activities.
8. Ensure that invoicing is given to the office staff in a timely fashion to allow for payment of
destination or presentation fees, unless payments were already made directly to an accredited,
board-approved company providing excursion services. See Procedures section of this
Administrative Procedure for information about using the services of McTavish Travel to book
excursions.
The Halton District School Board expects the designated office staff to:
1. Generate information night and permission letters from the information submitted by teachers using
the appropriate Halton District School Board letter template (Appendices E & F)
2. Deposit funds collected by teachers into School Generated Funds in accordance with the Halton
District School Board School Generated and School Council Funds Administrative Procedure,
unless payments were made directly to an accredited, board-approved company providing
excursion services.
3. Pay invoices related to excursions, day field trips, presentations and related transportation in a
timely manner.

PROCESSES:
1. Individual excursion proposals must be completed using the appropriate Excursion Costing Form
(Appendix B) and submitted with a complete costing package showing overall cost, cost per
participant, and expected sources of revenue, to the Principal by September 21 st in order to be
considered for the current school year.
2. Individual excursion proposals approved by the Principal must be collated and submitted to the
appropriate Family of Schools Superintendent summarized on the Annual Proposed Field Trip,
Presentation & Excursion Plan Form (Appendix A), supplemented by the Excursion Approval by
Superintendent Form (Appendix D) by the end of October each school year.
3. Once approved by the Family of Schools Superintendent, the individual excursion packages
should be returned to teachers to allow confirmation of destination/presentation and
transportation booking.
4. Once approved in principle, information about each excursion must be shared with the affected
parents through an information night, using the Excursion Parent Information Night Template
(Appendix E).
5. Once approval has been received and bookings have been confirmed, but no later than 2 months
prior to the date of the excursion, the Excursion Planning Checklist (Appendix C) and Excursion
Costing Form (Appendix B), as well as the Excursion Approval by Superintendent Form
(Appendix D), should be given to the appropriate office staff to allow generation of permission
letters to be sent home to parents.
6. Payments should be requested over a period of no longer than 10 school days to avoid prolonged
disruption of classroom routines for collection of funds, although staggered payments may be
requested for high-cost excursions. Timing of payment requests should coincide with any
requirements from the excursion provider for booking deposits or payments by installment.
7. Funds collected from students must be submitted to the office daily, accompanied by a
completed School Activities Receipts Form and class/participant list detailing payment by cash
or cheque. Once all funds have been collected, they should be promptly deposited to the School
Generated Funds bank account in accordance with the School Generated and School Council
Funds Administrative Procedure.
8. Permission letters and medical forms must be retained by the teacher supervising the excursion,
and must accompany students.
9. If applicable, a completed bus manifest (Appendix H) must be left with the school office for all
excursions involving travel by land.
10. Invoices for expenses incurred while on an excursion must be submitted to the appropriate office
staff accompanied by a Request for Funds Form. Where payments are required prior to the date
of the event (e.g. airfare) or where payment must accompany a group to a destination, a written
confirmation/contract/booking detailing cost per participant, taxes and total due may be used to
issue a cheque; in these cases, a receipt for payment should also be requested. Advances of
funds to be carried as cash during an excursion are not allowed.
In the situation where the service provider (airline, hotel, etc.) is unable to invoice the school for
the costs of the excursion so that the school may pay via school cheque, the services of
McTavish Travel shall be used to book travel and accommodations. When McTavish Travel is
used a copy of the Excursion Approval by Superintendent Form must be submitted to the
Accounting Analyst in Business Services to facilitate payment.

11. Gratuities or fees expected in cash during an excursion must either be detailed on the invoice
from the tour company, or incurred as expenses by the excursion supervisor(s), to be reimbursed
upon submission of receipts attached to a Request for Funds Form. Expenses not built into the
cost charged to student participants may not be reimbursed from funds collected from other
student activities. Advances of funds to be carried as cash during an excursion are not allowed.
12. Refunds to students unable to take part in an excursion for which they have paid are dependent
upon whether the destination issues a refund to the school. In all cases of refund, a Request for
Funds Form and verification of both the student’s absence and their original payment are
required as backup for issue of a refund cheque.
Mandatory Forms attached as Appendices:
A. Annual Proposed Field Trip, Presentation & Excursion Plan
B. Excursion Costing Form
C. Excursion Planning Checklist
D. Excursion Approval by Superintendent
E. Excursion Parent Information Night Template
F. Excursion Permission Letter
G. Student Medical Information
H. Bus Manifest