The Springfield Township policy committee spent substantial time on field-trip guidance Dec. 10, clarifying four trip categories, how non-district vendor trips are handled, and how the district seeks to preserve equitable access.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Johnson outlined distinctions between regular curriculum-aligned field trips, extracurricular and school-sponsored trips, and non-district sponsored extended travel coordinated by third-party vendors. "The non district sponsored event… where basically we're a conduit of information and resource sharing to allow some of our staff in their own time and on their own time to utilize district resources like, email lists or announcements," Dr. Johnson said.

Committee members pressed on funding and accessibility. Dr. Johnson said the district will help problem-solve finances for school-sponsored or extracurricular trips to make participation equitable but will not provide district money for vendor-run extended trips such as some international travel. "Any field trip, extracurricular trip, or school sponsored trip, the school district will work to help problem solve finding the finances to ensure that students who would like to participate or the resources that students might need to participate can do so," Dr. Johnson said.

The draft adds a post-trip review for extended/overnight travel so the district can assess whether a trip should repeat. Administrators also proposed that the board be informed of field trips and that large extended travel coordinated by outside vendors require board approval to be advertised within district channels; curriculum-embedded or routine program activities would generally not be listed as field trips.

The committee discussed health services and accommodations. Administrators said when a student requires nursing assistance on a school-sponsored trip, the district will provide a nurse at district expense; that support would not apply to non-district vendor trips.

Administrators also recommended a participant/payment requirement taking effect in 2027 that would require students to be enrolled in the district in the year the trip occurs, allowing recent graduates to participate in immediate post-graduation trips.