Chancellor’s Regulation A-670 sets forth the rules and procedures governing school trips for students in the school system. The regulation provides guidance for planning and executing field trips for students, and outlines the responsibilities of Superintendents, principals and staff. It also clearly establishes defined supervisory ratios and rules for handling emergencies. Please refer to the website below for the full text of Chancellor’s Regulation A-670:
Field Trips are pivotal to inquiry-based, research-driven learning. Therefore, they should never be “stand-alone” activities, nor should they be done “just for fun.” The knowledge explored and gained through carefully planned field trips should be integral to the work going on in the classroom. It should not be an extra, but rather an essential component of the curriculum. As such, teachers should make pre-visits to the sites and create lesson plans that will precede, accompany and follow-up on the field work.
Please note that all field trips must be approved by the administration. Trip Approval Forms are available in the main office and on the school website. All trip forms must be submitted to the administration five to six weeks prior to the trip date with the curriculum connection well stated. On the Trip Approval Form, you are required to describe the purpose of the trip and indicate what form of transportation is needed, as well as the cost of admission. Prior approval is, also, required of any admission costs associated with the field trip.
Any unusual occurrence on the trip must be reported immediately to the principal. Such notification is to be made immediately (i.e. lost or injured child, dangerous or illegal activity) or upon return to school (i.e. problem with reservations, quality of presentation).
Yellow Bus Service
Yellow bus service for field trips is provided to students in kindergarten through 8th grade only. In addition, grades K-2 and Special Needs classes must travel by yellow bus when participating on a field trip.
Pre-K classes must charter a bus through a PreK approved vendor. PreK students under the age of 5 or weighing 50 pounds or less will require a car seat.
Yellow Bus requests must be made on the Trip Approval Form.
The following guidelines apply when utilizing the yellow bus service:
- Trips must be within the five boroughs of New York City.
- Trips must leave the school after 9:30 am and buses must return to the school by 1:30 pm.
- Requests must be received by the Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) at least two weeks before the trip date.
- Trips cannot service multiple destinations.
- September 29 is the first day for field trips for the 2022-2023 school year.
- June 9 is the last day for field trips for the 2022-2023 school year.
Trips cannot be scheduled on any of the following days:
|
No Field Trip Days 2019-2020 |
|
| October | 5, 10 |
| November | 8, 11, 24, 25 |
| December | 26 - 31 |
| January | 2, 16 |
| February | 20 - 24 |
| April | 6, 7, 10 - 14, 21 |
| May | 29 |
The buses used for field trips are the same buses that are used to bring students to and from school for their regular academic program. As a result, trips will not be scheduled on dates when the NYC public schools are closed or on the dates shown above when the public schools have half-day sessions.
When planning trips, please remember all buses must return to the school no later than 1:30 p.m. OPT will not provide round-trip yellow bus service for activities likely to delay return to school past 1:30 p.m. (including but not limited to: sporting events, Madison Square Garden, the Circus, the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Radio City Music Hall, World Marina, Marco Polo/Spirit Cruises and Staten Island Ferry). However, schools can choose to combine yellow bus service and free group subway transportation certificates to accommodate their field trip needs.
To use combined services:
· Request yellow bus service using the Trip Approval Form
· Request free group subway transportation certificates from Maria Jaya two (2) days prior to the trip date.
Tolls and Parking
The teacher must pay all tolls and parking fees if free parking is unavailable. If two routes to the destination are possible—one requiring a toll(s), and one toll-free, the toll-free route should be chosen, unless the teacher prefers the alternate route with the toll(s). Some vendors are required to pay tolls which will be noted on the field trip form.
Routing
Before leaving the school, the lead teacher and the driver should agree on the route to be taken from the school to the trip destination and back to the school. If they cannot agree on a route, the driver should ask the dispatcher to call the Field Trip Office for a decision. The driver and teacher must agree on a departure time from the trip destination to arrive back at the school by 1:30 PM before leaving school.
Lateness
Buses should arrive at the school for the field trip as soon as possible after the last morning dropoff.
If the Teacher and pupils are late returning to the bus for the trip back to school, the driver should call the dispatcher who must call the Field Trip Office. The Field Trip Office may authorize the driver to return without the teacher and pupils if the lateness interferes with the regular afternoon dismissal schedule. Teachers risk having field trip privileges withdrawn from their school if they delay the return to the school unnecessarily.
Under no circumstances is a class to be left at the field trip destination without specific authorization from the Field Trip Office.
If there is any indication that the bus will be late for the school’s regular afternoon dismissal because the class has not returned to the bus, the dispatcher must call the schools that will have late pickups, as well as the Field Trip Office.
Public Transportation
The Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) works in conjunction with MTA New York City Transit to provide free group subway transportation certificates to schools. These certificates may be used by groups of students accompanied by teachers wile traveling to and from educational field trip sites during designated days and times.
Certificates are valid for round-trip travel on subways only and will not be accepted on buses. The certificates may be used:
· Monday through Friday (they are not valid on Saturday, Sunday or holidays)
Parental Notification and Consent Forms
Parents must be notified in writing in advance of the planned trip, and a parental consent form is required for each school trip. Parent permission slips are the responsibility of the trip organizer. Permission slips must be distributed at least one week prior to the scheduled trip date to allow time for planning and follow-up. On the day of the trip, you must have a roster of students attending the trip that includes phone numbers, addresses, and emergency contacts. This roster must go with you on the trip.
Schools must use the parental consent form provided by the school and located on the school website.
No student under the age of eighteen years of age will be allowed to participate in a school trip unless his or her parent, guardian, or person in parental relation has signed a consent form allowing the student to participate. Permission slips will stay in your mailboxes on the day of the trip.
No child may be excluded from participating on a field trip without prior approval from the office.
Field Trip Supervision
All school trips require appropriate supervision as set forth in Chancellor’s Regulation A-670. There must be supervision of students at every stage of a school trip and the ratio of staff and adults to students on a school trip must follow the guidelines below:
| Type of Trip | Elementary School | Middle School |
| Routine Day Trips
within NYC |
1 staff member + 2
additional adults for up to 30 students. For each additional 10 students, an additional adult is required. |
1 staff member + 2
additional adults for up to 30 students. For each additional 15 students, an additional adult is required. |
| One day out-of-the- city or overnight trips | 2 staff members + 1
adult for up to 30 students. For each additional 10 students, an additional adult is required. |
2 staff members + 1
adult for up to 30 students. For each additional 15 students, an additional adult is required. |
All schools trips must have one teacher or supervisor present on the trip. If a trip requires a second staff member, that staff member may be a member of the instructional staff, a paraprofessional, a school aide, a guidance counselor, or a parent coordinator. The other chaperones on the trip must be parents of students attending the trip. The term “parent” means the student’s parent(s) or guardian(s), or any person(s) in a parental or custodial relationship to the student, or the student, if he/she is an emancipated minor or has reached 18 years of age.
The term parent does not include adults who are not in a custodial relationship with the student. For example, a parent’s friend or boyfriend, or a parent’s adult child, or a parent of a student on another school trip may not serve as chaperones on a school trip.
It is strongly suggested that you call and confirm a chaperone’s attendance a few days before the trip. If you are having difficulty getting enough parent volunteers, please see the Parent Co-Director or the Parent Coordinator.
As described above, parents may attend a school trip as a chaperone. It is a violation of Chancellor’s Reg A-670 for relatives of DOE personnel to be involved in or otherwise affiliated with school trips. Thus, a parent may not bring other siblings or family members along on the trip, even if the sibling is an adult. A staff member may not bring his or her spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend, other family members, or child on the school trip. School trips are for students only and staff members/parents who are acting as chaperones.
Lunch Requests
In the event that students are asked to bring their own lunches for a field trip, a handful of extra lunches should always be ordered from the kitchen. There is a Request for Lunch form available in the office that must be submitted to Maria Jaya one week prior to the trip. Be sure to inform students and parents that glass bottles are not allowed on trips.
Neighborhood Walks
All families will receive a Neighborhood Walking Consent Form during the first week of school requesting permission for each child to participate in brief neighborhood walking trips. This parental consent will allow students to participate throughout the school year in neighborhood walks to such places as the Children’s Garden in Highland Park, Arlington Public Library, and other community organizations, with the entire class and under the teacher’s supervision. A copy of the school-wide Neighborhood Walking Consent form can be found on the school website.