1. PURPOSE AND PHILOSOPHY
   The Weber School District Board of Education acknowledges the benefits derived from participation in extended school activities and/or functions whose sponsorship legitimately recognizes and enhances special achievement and performance. Occasionally, such extended school activities require overnight travel. When the activity enhances and enriches the achievement of a student or a group of students, the Board supports and encourages such activity. However, the Board also recognizes its duty to provide a safe environment during all school activities and where students are, for the most part, minors, the Board seeks, through this policy, to establish parameters and procedures for student overnight travel.
   
   
2. POLICY
   Student overnight travel may be a part of the educational program for high school students when the anticipated educational benefits warrant the required expenditures, comparable experiences are not available at the local school, and the travel costs will not burden families unduly. On rare occasions, students in 9th grade may also participate in overnight travel activities. All overnight travel is subject to the parameters and procedures outlined below.
   
   
3. DEFINITIONS
   1. “District Travel Committee” means a committee established by the Board of Education for the purpose of reviewing all travel requests by Weber School District students, on a minimum annual basis.
   2. “Educational field trip” means any off-campus activity or CTSO Activity that meets a curriculum need and serves a specific educational purpose.
   3. “Overnight travel” means travel associated with a school-sponsored activity extending beyond one (1) day. Overnight travel requires approval by the Superintendent or the Board of Education.
   4. “UHSAA” refers to the Utah High School Activities Association.
   5. “Educational Purpose” means high-level competition or course of study, class, education, and where a majority of the time on the trip is spent for an educational purpose. 
   6. “School Organization” means a team, club, or an approved school program sponsored by the District
      
      
4. PURPOSE AND LIMITATION OF OVERNIGHT TRAVEL
   1. Overnight travel must be primarily for an educational purpose, and will only be approved for school organizations that are UHSAA-approved, or that are affiliated with a state or national educational organization or an approved high school program. The District Travel Committee will determine, based on the itinerary submitted with the Overnight Travel Application, whether the educational purpose is the primary purpose of the travel request. Overnight travel with no educational purpose will be denied. 
   2. Overnight travel beyond 350 miles (one way) will be limited to one such travel experience every other year, per participating group. Overnight travel within 350 miles for school organizations may be approved for more than once a year travel, subject to approval by the Overnight Travel Committee. 
   3. Travel experience must align with curriculum programs and should not create unnecessary disruptions to regular school studies. Overnight travel for qualifying national CTSO competitions are allowed to occur once annually. 
   4. All overnight student travel participation is strictly optional. Students who, for any reason, do not participate in activity travel shall not be penalized. Nonparticipation shall not impact grades or the student's status in the class or organization.
   5. Weber School District schools shall not sponsor activity travel for post-graduate students such as graduation trips, music tours, etc., except overnight travel for pre-approved national competitions that occur the summer following graduation.
   6. Overnight travel that is not school-sponsored, led by a school District employee through a private travel agency on the employee’s personal time, should be organized and planned outside of school contract hours and off-school contract time. Employees should use personal emails and phone numbers, rather than school emails and phone numbers, to communicate about the overnight travel and it must be clearly communicated to parents that the travel is not sponsored by the District.  
   7. The District does not sponsor any foreign travel.
      
      
5. PROCEDURES
   1. All travel requests must be in writing, submitted to the local principal, and, if the request is for Overnight travel, must follow the format of the "Overnight Travel Request" form, and include: 
      1. The purpose of the trip;
      2. The educational outcome of the experience; 
      3. Whether the educational experience can be obtained closer to the home school and, if not, why;
      4. All requests must bear the principal's signature and their recommendations; and
      5. An itinerary with proposed activities the organization would like to do on the trip, including the costs of extra activities.
         1. The District will cover advisors’ costs for one activity that requires adult supervision for the students, at the discretion of the District Travel Committee and the Director of the program. 
         2. An itinerary need not be submitted at the same time the request for travel is submitted, but must be approved by the District Travel Committee and the Director prior to the travel.
   2. Requests shall be presented to the District Travel Committee for review and approval or denial of the request.  The District Travel Committee may approve the trip overall, but deny the activity, not related to the purpose of the trip. 
   3. The local principal will ensure that the request meets all travel guidelines. If the request does not meet the guidelines it should not be forwarded to the District Travel Committee for consideration.
   4. If travel is approved, the following must be considered by the school organization and school.
      1. Parent authorization forms will include itinerary/trip details, student health/medical records, and health/accident insurance information.
      2. Itinerary and details of trip should be explicit in information:
         1. Transportation;
         2. Cost;
         3. Lodging/meals (address of lodging);
         4. Supervision; and
         5. Schedule (day-by-day).
      3. The advisor of an organization planning to travel must hold a parent/guardian meeting, and invite an administrator, to discuss the following:
         1. educational purpose and related activities of the trip;
         2. all costs associated with the trip as outlined in Section VIII below;
         3. fee waiver options and possible fundraising efforts;
         4. what forms are required before travel (see section V.5)
      4. All students are required to submit the required parent authorization forms provided to them by the advisor prior to travel. Forms will include:
         1. parent permission forms;
         2. student health/medical release authorizing the school/advisor to seek medical attention in case of emergency; and
         3. health/accident insurance information.
   5. Local school promotions/advertising travel can only occur after authorization has been granted at the appropriate administrative level. Advisers may not use an excessive amount of class/instructional time to plan and promote the trip. The trip may only be advertised and promoted to Weber School District students.
   6. Out-of-state travel is generally restricted to the Mountain West and West Coast area (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Wyoming, and Washington). Travel beyond the areas designated in this section will be scrutinized by the Out of State Travel Committee and will only be approved under rare circumstances. 
      1. National competitions outside the Mountain West and West Coast area (as described in paragraph V.E.) may be approved provided the school organization qualifies at the appropriate state-level competitions. 
   7. Overnight travel is not allowed in elementary school.
   8. Overnight travel is not allowed in junior high.
      1. Exceptions to junior high overnight travel may be granted for 9th-grade students, but only upon approval by the Board of Education after the Out of State District Travel Committee has reviewed the request from the junior high school principal. 
      2. The request must explain the extraordinary circumstances of the travel, must be related to CTE curriculum, and must be as a result of the students having qualified to participate in a national competition.
   9. Out-of-school time should not exceed three days; however, if such experiences are District-directed, an outgrowth of the curriculum, and the experience is educational and productive, the Overnight Travel Committee may approve an extension.
      
      
6. SUPERVISION FOR TRAVEL
   1. Advisor(s) will be required to accompany their school organizations for all overnight travel to provide leadership, ensure safety, and supervision. 
   2. Supervision for student travel must be provided for at a ratio of one (1) responsible adult age 21 years or older per ten 10 students. However, there must always be at least two (2) Weber District employees as chaperones regardless of the total number of students traveling.
   3. Chaperones shall be primarily advisers and parents. Any additional non-employee chaperones (ie, parents) must have a completed background check through the Weber School District. Clearance will be verified with the Human Resource department prior to departure. Under no circumstance can a chaperone’s responsibility be delegated to an unapproved chaperone. Students can only be released to their parents/guardians.
      
      
7. LODGING
   1. Lodging must be provided through a commercial enterprise, including hotels, motels, inns, and vacation rentals offered through a reputable vacation service rental.
   2. Overnight lodging must provide one bed per student and have separate rooms and restrooms based on gender. Wherever possible, three students will be placed together in a room. In situations where three students to a room is not an option due to availability of rooms, administrator and parent permission is required. 
   3. Adult supervisors must stay overnight onsite with students and must have separate bedrooms and restrooms.
      
      
8. EXPENDITURES FOR TRAVEL
   1. All expenses (including travel expenses for required chaperones) associated with the trip must be paid by the participants themselves (unless the participant is on fee waiver), covered by fundraising, or financed by Career and Technical Education (CTE) or other state or federal monies provided expressly for the activity. School student body funds may not be used. Schools must cover the cost of students who are subject to fee waiver. Any revenue raised through fundraising for travel purposes must be approved on the District’s fee schedule. 
   2. All student expenditures associated with the trip must be itemized and shown on the application in detail by listing exact costs per student:
      1. travel;
      2. housing;
      3. meals;
      4. registration fees (when applicable);
      5. commercial insurance coverage (if not included in the package);
      6. individual post-departure travel insurance purchased through District travel buyer.;
      7. other, i.e. event admissions; and
      8. chaperone/adult travel costs.
   3. School money may be used to pay for the adviser/teacher to attend and may be used to pay for travel expenses including flight, rental car (where appropriate), and other transportation (UBER, shuttle, etc.), and hotel accommodations (Single Occupancy). Per diem shall be provided for the days of travel. Advisers and teachers shall use personal funds for non-approved activities on the trip.  
   4. Travel costs vary according to specific programs. Principals should scrutinize costs carefully to ensure minimal financial impact on individuals, school organizations, schools, and communities.
   5. Fee waivers apply to all overnight travel expenses, consistent with Policy 4200.
      
      
9. TRANSPORTATION
   1. Transportation shall be by a commercial carrier or by Weber School District Transportation Services for all overnight travel.
   2. Parents or legal guardians wishing to transport their own children may do so with the approval of the administration and/or the team coach/adviser and by completing the appropriate Parent Transportation Form. Parents may not transport other students for overnight travel activities. Parents or legal guardians will be responsible for all liability. 
   3. Ground transportation guidelines are as follows:
      1. Only those commercial carriers licensed to operate in Utah and in other states (when utilized) shall be used. Weber School District buses may be used in the following circumstances:
         1. The trip is to take place when school is not in session.
         2. The travel is to be within the state.
         3. The request for services is submitted at least one month in advance.
         4. The request is approved by the Director of Transportation.
      2. Commercially rented buses or other modes of ground transportation may be used upon arrival at the destination.
      3. Appropriate ground transportation insurance must be in place. If the destination is out of state, a commercial carrier, with a professional, licensed operator, must be utilized.
      4. Upon arrival at a destination, local ground transportation may be operated by an adult adviser/chaperone who is at least 21 years of age or older if the distance traveled is less than 150 miles one way, and the operator does not have any prior drug/alcohol-related driving citations. The vehicles used for this transportation should never exceed an eight-passenger capacity. Fifteen passenger vans are strictly prohibited for any student travel. Appropriate ground transportation insurance must be in place. Students are not allowed to drive upon arrival at a destination.
      5. Any private charter bus or large-passenger vehicle transporting students from Weber School District to the destination for overnight travel activities must be on state contracts.
      6. When a school organization attends an overnight activity and the school is providing transportation to the overnight activity, students may not drive themselves.
         
         
10. TRAVEL CANCELLATIONS
    1. When, in the sole judgment of the District administration or the Board of Education in consultation with the school and the participating students and parents/legal guardians, travel is suspended or canceled due to safety or other considerations beyond the control of any or all involved, Weber School District, the Board of Education, and District employees and agents shall have no obligation and shall be held harmless with respect to refund of any expenditures.
    2. Participants should not expect refunds for cancellations either individually or as a group. It is the local school’s responsibility to make this explicit to participants prior to commitment of funds.
    3. The school administration must be certain that each parent/legal guardian is aware of cancellation guidelines and also require parents/legal guardians to sign a statement indicating their understanding.
       
       
11. DISTRICT TRAVEL COMMITTEE COMPOSITION
    1. The District Travel Committee will consist of two Board of Education members appointed by the president of the Board, an assistant superintendent, a CTE representative, the director of secondary education, the secondary supervisor, and all high school principals.  A junior high school principal may be invited to participate when a request from a junior high school for overnight travel has been submitted. They will meet at least annually to consider requests for the next school year.

Approved: March 2024