Hall County school system’s out-of-state and/or overnight field trip procedure
- Trips for elementary students will be denied except on rare occasions when the board determines that the opportunity is so valuable and so unique that it merits special consideration.
- Trips for middle school students will be highly discouraged and rarely approved. In this transition year, the superintendent will meet with individual principals and determine: 1) There is reason to believe students were told they would participate in this event. 2) There is reason to believe sufficient funding can be generated. 3) There is a clear and confidential protocol for families to opt out of the activity without penalty to the student. 4) The school principal and sponsor have studied the costs and concluded that the trip does not create a financial hardship for a substantial number of participating students’ families.
- High school trips will continue to be looked at individually with special consideration for funding, frequency and merit.
In other news:
- The board approved Johnson High School’s charter petition that aims to establish a portion of the school as an international and legal studies charter school. The charter program will undergo state Board of Education review in November.
- The board approved a resolution in support of Gwinnett County schools regarding its lawsuit against various education stakeholders. The board’s resolution supports Gwinnett County’s stance against using local funds to supplement a charter commission to fund charter schools not approved by local boards of education.
- As more homeless students matriculate in Hall schools, the board altered its homelessness policy to standardize its approach to address the academic needs of homeless students.
The Hall County school board approved a new process for approving out-of-state and overnight field trips to reduce the financial burden on parents.
The board approved a procedure Monday that generally will deny out-of-state and overnight field trips for elementary students and discourage such trips for middle and high school students. Trips related to competitive events will be considered on a case-by-case basis, said Superintendent Will Schofield.
The policy does not apply trips within a 50-mile radius of the school. Such trips do not need board approval.
Hall County school board Chairman Richard Higgins said the board is trying to find some middle ground to do the best thing for all Hall County students. Schofield said more than half of the system’s 26,000 students receive free or reduced lunches.
"We’re trying to draw a line," Higgins said. "You can’t go everywhere and do everything. ... Parents have the opportunity to take (their kids) to Orlando on their own."
The board has not yet made a decision on whether to approve a field trip request from Chestatee Middle School’s chorus group that requested to go on a trip to Disney World and perform at a chorus festival in Orlando. Also, the board is still weighing North Hall High Drama Club’s request to take a trip to New York City.
Students, parents and teachers have been fundraising for the two out-of-state trips, and kids have been looking forward to taking them for some time.
Larry Lambert, who has a granddaughter at East Hall High School, said he believes out-of-state field trips are great incentives for students to participate in extracurricular activities. Lambert was one of several parents who attended the meeting Monday who said they do not understand why the board would deny students approval for trips if students obtain funds from sponsors.
"If the kids get out and earn the money, I feel like they ought to be rewarded by going on these trips," he said. "They deserve to go on the trip."
Schofield said from now on, schools will be required to stick to the system’s long-standing policy of getting board approval for field trips before fundraising and planning begin.
"In the future, we will do a better job of getting board approval before we start raising funds and getting kids excited about field trips," he said.