The excursion must be approved in
advance by the person in charge or, if cosponsored or sponsored by an
outside entity, by the regional bishop's office or the
Department of Catholic Schools, as applicable.
Traditional field trips for elementary school classes must have specific educational goals for students.
For
excursions outside a 100-mile radius of the location, in which the
participants are students or youth, the person in charge should consider
the budgetary constraints of parents/guardians, the excursion's
financial impact on other fund-raising activities, and class work that
students will miss.
The person in charge should have a
detailed itinerary of any field trip or excursion that involves travel
and hotel accommodations, including contact information for all
transportation and lodging vendors, coordinators, and sponsors.
On field
trips, excursions, or activities with participants who are minors, the
supervising adult must have in his or her possession a signed and dated
Student and Youth Activity Permission Form (English version and Spanish version) for each minor.
On
field trips, excursions, or activities with participants who are minors
who take medication, the supervising adult must have in his or her
possession a signed and dated
Medication Authorization and Permission Form for each minor who takes
medication. During the excursion, the supervising adult also must have any necessary medications in his or her possession.
All participants—adults and minors—must have appropriate identification and, as necessary, travel documents.
All
chaperones and any vendors who both provide the trip and have contact
with minors must follow archdiocesan safe environment policies,
including
fingerprinting requirements and background checks. No chaperone should ever be alone with a minor who is not his or her own child.
The supervising adult or adult group leader must have immediate access to a
first aid kit. First aid kits must be in all vehicles that transport participants to and from activities.
In any area where there may be poisonous snakes, the group must have a
snake bite kit.
Vehicles used to transport participants must adhere to the rules on transportation for parishes and schools set forth in
Transportation for Parishes and Schools.
The supervising adult on field trips, excursions, or activities involving minors must have immediate access to
student emergency information.
At least one adult chaperone for field trips, excursions, or activities involving minors shall be in possession of a cell phone.
Chaperones driving minors should be at least 25 years old. Non-driving chaperones should be at least 21 years old.
Both male and female chaperones must supervise coed events.
There
should be at least two chaperones on every trip and two chaperones of
each sex on every coed trip, so that no chaperone is alone with a minor.
The number of chaperones who must be present to supervise minors should
be decided on a case-by-case basis, giving consideration to the age of
the participants and the nature of the activity. Locations with any
questions should contact the
Department of Catholic Schools or the
Office of Religious Education.
Clergy/staff
members/faculty/volunteers who supervise minors or young adults, or who
are group leaders of school-sponsored activities, may not be
under the influence of alcohol or any substance that can cause
impairment and may not offer alcohol or any controlled substance (except
medication that is prescribed for a minor or young adult) to anyone under age 21.
Adult participants should fill out and sign the Adult Consent and Release Form.
