SPBS Specific Policies
Classes may participate, at the discretion of the administration, in educational field trips. These trips are planned by the teacher and supervised by the teacher and adult (parent) chaperones. No younger siblings may accompany parents on field trips, as the parent's purpose is to chaperone and supervise the students in that class while away from school.
The Department of Catholic Schools field trip policies listed below apply to class trips, school group trips and trips for school sport teams at SPBS. SPBS may also plan field trips for one or more days, including overnight field trips – such as Sixth Grade Outdoor School.
All field trips, whether day or overnight, at SPBS comply with the following Archdiocesan-mandated requirements:
- Prior written permission of the Principal upon request by the teacher
- Preparation, follow-up, and specific educational goals for students provided by the teacher
- Signed and dated Student and Youth Activity Permission Forms and Emergency Medical Authorizationsmust be received by the school from parents (available on school website and this Handbook) 48 hours prior to leaving on the field trip
- All Permission and Authorization Forms must be in the possession of the supervising adults during the trips and returned to the teacher at the conclusion of the field trip
- All Archdiocesan policies on “safe environments" for students (Teaching Touching Safety/VIRTUS) must be followed, including background checks for vendors providing the trips, as applicable
- Transportation may only be by personal car, school or chartered bus or van.
- School employees, including teachers and coaches, shall not drive students to or from athletic and co-curricular trips or events without administrative consent.
- Parent/guardian volunteers driving students in their own cars must be at least 25 years of age, have a clean driving record for the past three years, a valid Class C driver's license and current, valid California automobile insurance with limits of at least $100,000/300,000 – proof of which must be provided to the school prior to the field trip. Chaperones MAY NOT consume alcohol while chaperoning a fieldtrip.
- All chaperones must be fingerprinted and VIRTUS trained.
- Each vehicle must have individual seat belts for each student and car seats as indicated by California state law. Children who are younger than 8 or less than 4'9" are required to use a car/booster seat properly secured in the back seat.
- Note: If a child requires a 5-point harness car seat, the parent must be available to properly install/uninstall the car seat in the transportation vehicle.
- Children under the age of 13 should never ride in the front seat of a vehicle due to safety reasons/airbags, unless they meet all the required safety standards by the state of California to do so AND their parent is the driver of the car.
- A copy of the parent/guardian's current driver's license and insurance declaration page will be kept on file at the school and must be updated as needed
- Contracts with bus companies or other transportation vendors may be submitted to the Archdiocesan Legal Department for review prior to signature.
Field trips are designed to correlate with teaching units and to achieve curricular goals at SPBS. It is not necessary for all grades to have the same number of field trips. Field trips are permissible at SPBS, when advanced planning, location, and the experience help ensure a successful learning opportunity for the students. SPBS teachers select parent drivers, and may request help from their Teacher Aide and/or Head Room Parent during the process of organizing a class field trip. Priority is given to parents who have not driven on a field teip that given school year.
Parents may not drive only their child(ren) on a field trip. Volunteers are chaperoning small groups of students, not just their own child. Parents not selected as chaperones for a particular field trip, may not “meet" the class at the destination, due to liability concerns and insurance issues. Refusal to allow your child to drive with another parent may result in your child not attending the field trip. In those instances, the child must remain home from school on that day.
The cost of all class field trips is included in your SPBS tuition and fees, except for designated graduation field trips/events in the 8th Grade, as well as the 6th Grade Outdoor Education and 7th Grade Catalina trips.
Individual teachers in consultation with the administration reserve the right to restrict or deny individual student participation on any field trip due to, but not limited to, poor academic performance and/or poor behavior.
A written official permission slip, signed by the parent, is required before a child will be permitted to attend a field trip. Verbal permission cannot be accepted.
Note: Permission Forms and proof of insurance/license for parent drivers are due to the teacher at least 48 hours prior to the field trip.
A SPBS field trip permission form is printed at the end of this Handbook for your convenience, in addition to being available on our school website. This is the only form that may be used to allow a student to leave campus during school hours without their legal guardian. If your child fails to bring his/her permission form home, you may tear out and use or copy the form provided or download a form from our website at www.stpaschalbaylonschool.org under “Forms". Call the school secretary for information needed to complete the form. A fax does not take the place of an original signature required for an SPBS field trip permission form.
BOOSTER SEATS ARE MANDATORY FOR CHILDREN UNDER 8 OR WHO ARE 4'9" OR SMALLER on all SPBS Field Trips, per California law. The law also states that all children who fall within these criteria must be properly buckled into a car seat or booster in the back seat. Children age 8 or older, or who are 4'9" or taller, may use the vehicle seat belt if it fits properly with the lap belt low on the hips, touching the upper thighs, and the shoulder belt crossing the center of the chest. If children are not tall enough for proper belt fit, they must ride in a booster or car seat. Everyone in the car must be properly buckled up. For each child under 16 who is not properly secured, parents (if in the car) or drivers can be fined more than $475 and get a point on their driving records. Lap belt stays across hips. Shoulder belts cross the center of the chest. No child under the age of 13 may ride in the front seat of the vehicle on an SPBS field trip. If a child requires a 5-point harness car seat, the parent must be available to properly install/uninstall the car seat in the transportation vehicle. Students who are not sent to school with their safety seat will not be allowed to attend the class field trip that day, as SPBS conforms to this California State law.
ADLA General Policies
