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One of the cardinal rules of supervision on school field trips is to ensure that children do not leave sight
of chaperones. The question of liability for injuries when children leave adult supervision without
permission presents two factors. First, was there negligence in supervision on site that permitted the child
to leave? If so, then that breach of duty would be the proximate cause of the injury. Second, was that type
of injury foreseeable? If so, then failure to supervise a child in a way that could have prevented the injury
would be negligence. For the school to be held open to liability, there must be proof that lack of
supervision or that negligent supervision was a proximate cause of the accident.
Individuals who perform supervisory functions must conduct themselves as a reasonable person would
under similar circumstances. Inappropriate behavior on the part of the supervisor may lead not only to a
negligence suit in the case of student field trip injuries or death, but also to disciplinary action against the
supervisor. As an example, in a Missouri case, two coaches took six high school boys and four female
cheerleaders to a meet, where they stayed overnight. Evidence indicated that the coaches left the students
unsupervised and the coaches attended a party and drank alcoholic beverages, and had allowed male and
female students to sleep in the same rooms. The coaches were found to have engaged in inappropriate
conduct when they abandoned the students and went partying and drinking. The court found that this
behavior rendered them unfit to teach or supervise students.
Special attention must be given to the planning of off-campus trips with young children. In one such case,
a kindergarten teacher planned a "safety day" class trip to a city-owned parking lot. The teacher planned
this event in the same way she had for years, following board of education policies and seeking parent
volunteers. Parents and children met at the school and rode with the teacher on a bus to the event. Just
before arrival at the event, the teacher addressed the chaperones and said, "Please keep an eye on the
children. We don't want anyone to get lost." What she did not do - and this turned out to be the proximate
cause of a student's death - was to assign specific students to each volunteer in order to prevent the risk of
student field trip injuries.
At the event, the fire company brought a fire truck, the rescue squad brought an ambulance, and the police
department set up "roads" with stop signs and walkways for children to practice safe street crossing. The
police brought several electric golf carts to use as "cars" to make the scene as realistic as possible. After
police officers finished conducting their demonstration of safe street crossing, three children climbed onto
a golf cart, one hanging onto the front of the cart. An officer had left the cart idling, key still in the
ignition. The cart drove straight ahead into the ambulance, crushing and instantly killing the child hanging
on the front. Because several entities were involved in the event - the school, teacher, principal, volunteer
chaperones, the police and fire departments, the EMT staff, and the municipal government that provided
the parking lot, assignment of liability would likely be shared. The school, however, through the teacher
who organized the event, was ultimately responsible for acting within the professional standard of care for
supervision of children. Had chaperones been directed to supervise specific students at all times, it is
likely that when the students climbed onto the golf cart, their chaperones would have stopped them.
Cases involving class trips can become quite complex when several agencies are involved. In a drowning
case, a school had selected students to attend a leadership training program off campus. The school rented
a nearby YMCA campsite that had several buildings suitable for overnight guests. There was also a third
agency, the company providing the training program.
In this case, several students left the dormitory in the middle of the night, went to a nearby riverbank and
took several boats into the river, even though signs strictly prohibited anyone from going into the water.
When several students drowned, each of the three entities and many individuals became defendants.
Sorting out supervisory responsibilities between the school, the training agency and the YMCA, assessing
the capacity of the students to watch out for their own safety, and many additional elements became
important when determining foreseeability, responsibility for supervision, proximate cause, and liability.
In this case, proximate causation was determined through an assessment of whether the students'
misconduct would likely have been prevented had the duty to supervise been discharged.
Contributory Negligence for Student Field Trip Injuries
Questions of liability may arise from any number of unforeseen situations. Who bears the burden of
liability when a student on a daytrip rents a bicycle, fails to wear a helmet, and sustains a head injury
when he runs into a tree? What is the school's liability if a child runs ahead of her group onto a highway,
only to be seriously injured by a passing car? When a child's own actions contribute in whole or part to
wrongful death or serious injury, such circumstances can be a defense in certain situations.
As a court stated, a determination of contributory negligence involves several considerations:
Characteristics of the child (e.g., age, intelligence, experience, knowledge, or physical condition)
that would influence her ability to detect dangerous conditions or appreciate the danger of a
hazard observed
Physical facts, i.e., the extent to which the hazard is noticeable and the degree of alertness
required to avoid such a hazard
The environment, be it the physical activities of the individual who was injured or killed or the
movement, sound, or placement of other persons and objects in the setting.
For example, in the river drowning case described earlier, the question of contributory negligence was
raised because the students who drowned were 17 and 18 years old, were determined to be intelligent
because they had been selected for leadership training, were physically fit, and had the ability to detect
the dangerous conditions of the river. A sign prohibiting swimming was clearly visible to a reasonable
person, and there were no distractions at the scene that would have caused either of the students to lose
concentration or momentarily forget that entering the river presented a danger of harm.
Summary
Supervision of children on the premises of a school, camp, or other entity is essential for protecting the
health, safety and well-being of participants. Supervision of children at school-sponsored trips presents
unique challenges and must be addressed in a different way. This is especially true when a group is
planning to go to a place that is unfamiliar and may present challenges and dangers not typically
considered.
Start with a clear, strong policy requiring administrative approval and a plan for the trip that includes
safety and emergency responses. Consider how many children will attend, their ages, and how many
adults are needed to supervise the children and protect them from harm. If the area is unfamiliar, the
person in charge should visit in advance, making note of potential hazards and developing a plan to
protect children from those hazards. Chaperones must know as much as possible about where the group is
going, the potential hazards, who the children are and whether any have a particular disability, behavior
problem or other characteristic requiring special attention, and which children are under their
responsibility during the trip.
As an expert witness providing services for plaintiff and defendant attorneys on issues of negligent
supervision and liability, I review the policies of schools and other entities and compare them against the
facts of the case. This process provides insight as to whether the entity met its own standards by following
its policies and whether contributory negligence was involved, leading us toward answers about questions
of liability. When the facts are clear, an opinion may be rendered as to whether the entity acted
appropriately and reasonably under the circumstances and within the professional standard of care.
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Dr. Edward Dragan, provides education expert consultation for high-profile and complicated cases. As
an educator and administrator, he has more than 35 years' experience as a teacher, principal,
superintendent and director of special education. He also has served as a state department of education
official.
Copyright - All Rights Reserved
DO NOT REPRODUCE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY AUTHOR.
http://www.experts.com/Articles/School-Liability-Student-Field-Trip-Injuries-Death-By-Edward-Dragan
"When I heard about this continuing ban on school travel to Baltimore, I was, frankly, totally flummoxed.
It seems so outrageous as to be actually sad," said Del. Brooke Lierman, a Baltimore Democrat. "Harford
County Public Schools is doing an enormous disservice to its students and families with this bizarre
policy."
Harford school administrators had extended their initial spring suspension of school trips and made it
indefinite on Jan. 11. City leaders scoffed at the idea that Baltimore isn't safe for children to visit.
"We are afraid the lesson being taught to the children of Harford County is to fear the city, and that is
disappointing," said Howard Libit, a spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
After the riots of April 27, school systems around the region canceled field trips. That policy changed
within a month as the city returned to normal. But when the trial of the first police officer charged in
Gray's death got underway in December, some school systems, including Baltimore County and Harford
County, again canceled trips.
All other counties have since lifted the prohibition, but Harford County took a different view.
"The travel restrictions were implemented strictly for the safety of the students based on information we
received from various law enforcement agencies, including the Baltimore City Police Department,
following the riots and relating to potential issues that may occur during the first and subsequent trials,"
Jillian Lader, a spokeswoman for the Harford schools, said in a statement.
She said the school system had been deciding on field trips on a week-by-week basis every Monday after
a briefing with law enforcement officials, but the process became difficult for planning purposes.
Teachers and principals didn't know from one week to the next whether they would be able to go on a trip,
so the administration decided to suspend the trips.
State Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, called the decision misguided and narrow-minded.
"Baltimore City offers some of the state's richest and most engaging cultural learning opportunities," he
said. "To deprive students the chance to experience these amazing assets is short-sighted and
uninformed."
Libit said the mayor finds it disappointing that children have been blocked from "experiencing many of
the cultural amenities of Baltimore City, including everything from the Baltimore Museum of Art and the
National Aquarium to the musical performances at the Lyric and the Meyerhoff." Harford County families
come to the city regularly to worship, work and visit family, he said.
City leaders said they believe the county's actions are a slap at the cultural and economic center of the
state. "What happened to One Maryland?" asked Lierman.
But Del. Curt Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat, said he won't criticize Harford officials.
"Harford has got to do what they have to do to keep their students safe," Anderson said. "If Harford
County feels they have to do it, then who am I to question?"
Anderson said legislators are concerned about the safety of city children in their own neighborhoods.
Baltimore County made a different decision based on the muted response after a mistrial was declared in
mid-December in the case of Officer William G. Porter, when jurors said they had failed to reach an
agreement on any of the charges against him in the death of Gray.
Gray's death in late April after being injured in the back of a police van spurred protests and a day of
rioting. It was one of a series of deaths to draw national attention to the issue of police brutality toward
black people. Six police officers have been charged in connection with the West Baltimore man's death.
"We monitored what happened during the first trial," said Mychael Dickerson, a spokesman for Baltimore
County schools. "There were no issues, and we didn't hear concerns from our schools."
He said the central office generally leaves decisions about field trips to leaders of individual schools, and
only rarely does the superintendent step in to suspend field trips without extensive discussions with staff.
Some Harford County residents also expressed concern following the decision to suspend trips. In
particular, parents were angered when their children were not allowed to participate in regional sports
tournaments.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Harford officials decided to allow athletic teams to make trips to the city. "Those
events tend to be more secure, and they are more regulated," Lader said.
City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke said she hoped Harford's children would come back.
"We are here to welcome them when they come back. We are sorry they are missing so many wonderful
things."
liz.bowie@baltsun.com
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-harford-travel-20160205-story.html
"I dont want parents to solicit money to pay for their childrens field trips. Who is earning from these
field trips at the expense of students and parents? On the part of students, they are forced to join the field
trips otherwise they will flunk in their subject or course, said Romualdo.
Romualdo said back then, he wrote to the DepEd and CHED officials to ban field trips for the welfare of
students and parents.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2013/02/25/913000/ban-compulsory-distant-field-trips-sought