Edmonton Public Schools
Board Policies and Regulations

1. DEFINITIONS
   1. A field trip is defined as a school activity that occurs outside the boundaries of the student's school.

   2. A high-risk activity is an activity listed by our district insurance broker as one that has contributed to the most serious claims across Canada.
      For the purposes of the following regulations, off-campus courses and work-study programs as outlined in Administrative Regulation HAA.AR - Off-Campus Education, are not considered to be field trips.

2. REGULATIONS

   1. Each field trip shall receive prior approval of the principal.

   2. Assistant Superintendent for Schools' approval is required for field trips involving high-risk activities, and for all out-of-province field trips. Information regarding such trips must be forwarded to the Assistant Superintendents for Schools a minimum of six weeks prior to departure.

   3. The Assistant Superintendent for Schools shall be informed of overnight field and high-risk trips prior to commitments being made to students and parents. Include all information to be provided to parents.

   4. Prior to each field trip, written parental permission shall be obtained for participating students. (Note Section C. below) (The Field Trip Information and Parental Consent Form is available for schools on the district intranet under Online Forms, Executive Services).

   5. The school can deny any child access to a particular activity.

   6. Each field trip shall have a teacher designated as the teacher-leader in charge.

   7. In order to ensure informed consent, parents shall be provided by the teacher-leader with the following information in writing:
      1. purpose or educational goal of the field trip;
      2. proposed itinerary;
      3. description of the activities or events proposed;
      4. an indication of extraordinary or unusual hazards that may be encountered on the field trip;
      5. safety precautions in place to deal with activities involving risk;
      6. emergency procedures to be followed in the event of injury, illness or unusual circumstances;
      7. need for additional medical coverage for out-of-province trips;
      8. method of transportation to be used;
      9. arrangements for supervision;
      10. cost to the student.

   8. Principals shall ensure adequate preparation and supervision for all field trips. No teacher will be assigned instructional time specifically to organize field trips. A principal may authorize persons other than teachers to provide supervision or instruction when warranted by the nature of the specific field trip. The teacher-leader must be in attendance for the duration of all out-of-province and overnight field trips. The teacher-leader on all out-of-province trips will provide a daily update by phone or email to Executive Services. For all other field trips when a principal deems it appropriate the teacher-leader need not be present on a field trip.
      1. Whether or not the teacher-leader is present on a field trip, the teacher-leader must always have overall responsibility for the field trip to ensure conformance of the field trip with this regulation. The teacher-leader must ensure that supervision is available at all times and that assistant supervisors are prepared to deal with any emergencies that may arise. The supervisory arrangements will depend upon:
         1. the age, maturity, needs and ability levels of the students;
         2. the inherent risk of the activity;
         3. the circumstances of the particular activity.

      2. For high-risk activities, competent instruction and supervision in these activities are mandatory. Competence may be established by virtue of a certificate from a governing body for activities such as skiing, swimming, and canoeing. In areas where certificates are not issued, competency may be that recognized by virtue of experience and demonstrated expertise in the activity.

      3. The teacher-leader is responsible for being familiar with, and conducting a safety assessment of, the proposed site of the field trip.

      4. The teacher-leader shall ensure that training, preparation, orientation and expectations of all student participants and supervisors are provided.

      5. Where a principal deems it appropriate or where it is required by law, supervision shall include individuals suitably trained in first aid. Staff can access first aid training from a vendor approved by Purchasing and Contract Services. Alternatively, first aid training can be obtained from another vendor. In this case the principal is required to ensure that any vendor not on the approved list has appropriate training, insurance and certification and is offering a course approved by Alberta Workplace Health and Safety;

      6. An appropriately equipped portable first aid kit must be accessible. Information on the contents of first aid kits (schedule 3) and the type of kit required relative to the number of participants (schedule 5) can be found by following the link;

      7. When necessary, field trips involving students of both genders shall have supervisors of both genders;

      8. Contingency plans must be in place in the event of cancellation, adverse weather and road conditions, or other conditions that may require a change to the original itinerary;

      9. The Superintendent of Schools may at any time cancel or alter a field trip. If the cancellation or alteration is due to forces, conditions or threats outside the control of the district, no request for compensation by a parent will be entertained.

      10. The teacher-leader shall be responsible for ensuring that the following items are present and readily available on field trips:

      • list of student participants;
      • phone contact numbers;
      • Alberta Health Care numbers;
      • information regarding medication and medi-alert needs of participants;
      • cell phone (when available or appropriate).

   9. When necessary, principals are expected to seek advice and assistance from experts in planning field trips and in assessing risk. Following are recommended personnel and publications:
      1. Personnel:
         Executive Services
         Physical Education Consultant
         district insurance contact (Financial Services)
         district General Counsel
         other senior staff

      2. Publications:
         Safety Guidelines for Physical Activity in Alberta Schools
         Occupational Health Code 2009
         Safety Oriented Guidelines for Outdoor Education Executive and Programming
         The Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation

3. FIELD TRIP CONSENT FORMS:
   Parental permission forms shall:
   1. include consent from parents authorizing the supervisors to arrange for necessary medical treatment;
   2. specifically require parents, or a qualified instructor, to indicate a child's skill level in any high-risk activity such as swimming or skiing;
   3. provide for parents to be able to consent to particular activities and withhold consent with respect to others in relation to the same field trip;
   4. include information that the Superintendent of Schools, to ensure student safety, reserves the right to cancel or modify any trip and that no request for compensation will be entertained.

4. PARENTAL PERMISSION: OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
   Special provisions may be required when seeking permission from parents if language, literacy, or cultural barriers exist.
   1. For school activities that involve more than one trip outside the boundaries of the school such as swimming lessons, physical education classes, outdoor education classes, and interschool sports within the league, a single parental permission will suffice if the information to the parent includes a schedule of all activities. Should any of these be high-risk activities, separate field trip parental permission must be obtained.

   2. A single parental permission will suffice for scheduled and unscheduled walking field trips in the neighbourhood of the school.

   3. Supervisors should not entertain major deviations to the proposed itinerary once parental permission has been received.

5. FIELD TRIP RECORDS
   If the principal believes that the records pertaining to a field trip might be important because of an incident that occurs on the field trip, then the principal must retain those records in accordance with CN.AR - Creation, Use and Maintenance of District Information.
   1. The schools shall keep a record for two years of each field trip, which will include:
      • principal authorization; Assistant Superintendent for Schools' authorization where required
      • parent consent
      • all information provided to parents
      • list of participating students
      • list of supervisors