Field Trips – Did You Tell Your Volunteers How To Supervise Those Students?

Many of us can recall a time when our class spent the day at a museum to study art or artifacts first-hand; perhaps there was a journey to explore the wonders of the natural world; maybe we remember proudly representing our school for an exciting competition. Today, you probably think about field trips from a different perspective. Your top priority is to keep your students safe while they are traveling off campus. 

The best way to protect students and your district is to exercise appropriate risk management. While California law waives all claims against a district, charter school, or the state from pupils and grown-ups participating in a field trip, you still have a mandatory duty to reasonably and diligently supervise students in protecting them from risk of injury. Districts can still be liable for field trip injuries caused by failing to properly supervise students. 

Because field trips typically include volunteer chaperones, such volunteers must be trained and clearly understand their responsibilities for watching out for the kids. Here are some of the essential guidelines to make sure volunteer chaperones know how to supervise the students and work with the supervising teacher:

• Provide all volunteers with written rules and safety requirements of the field trip, as well as codes of conduct, and general standards for respect of persons and property and good behavior. Distribute this documentation along with their participation waiver form which should refer to these requirements.
• The supervising teacher should conduct an in-person orientation with the volunteers and students to reinforce the safety and conduct requirements prior to departure.
• Review procedures for volunteers to report any rule violations or injuries to participants to the supervising teacher. Provide all volunteers with reliable methods, including cell numbers and trip itineraries, to contact the teacher in the event of an incident.
• Give each volunteer the names of the specific students under their immediate supervision and how to keep constant track of them.
• Be certain all know the designated time and place for the return trip back to campus.

Sample policies, forms and best practices are available in a variety of places to assist you in creating a safe and educational field trip experience for your students.