Field Trips, Walk-Outs and In-School Clubs & Meetings: Questions Every Parent Should Ask Their School

Resources

It seems like every time parents turn around, there are new reasons their child is not learning in a controlled environment during the school day. Our students head off to school every morning and we expect that they will be in a safe learning environment for 7+ hours a day. Parents expect that lessons and activities scheduled during the school day are tied to their state’s approved Standard of Learning guidelines. 

Traditionally, extracurricular activities such as Clubs and Meetings were held after regular school hours. Parents are required to sign permission slips for their child to participate in these activities. The reasons are twofold – so the parent knows what activities the child is participating in and with whom, and so the parent knows the child is safe, the activity meets their approval and they have the correct pickup time and process.

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of activities – including clubs and meetings – that occur during the school day. These events can occur at lunch time, during free periods or during designated study periods. If these clubs and meetings occur during the school day, the parent is typically unaware of the activity. If parents are unaware of these activities, they cannot approve their child’s participation. 

More and more, parents are learning AFTER THE FACT, that their child participated in a non-parent-approved walk-out or in-school club or meeting during the school day. Students are often invited to special lunch groups or meetings that have nothing to do with academics and everything to do with culture war issues. Students are often encouraged to participate in a school-sanctioned (and often promoted) “walk-out” during the academic day. Some of these walkouts are within the school campus. Increasingly, many are outside of the school campus boundary and include more than just the student group. Time is often carved out from academic instruction for students to make posters and receive instruction on why a certain social justice issue is so important that it supersedes in-class learning and approved Standard of Learning content. It can be alarming to parents to learn that their child and their school has prioritized activism over academics. If your minor child is struggling in pre-Algebra, English Literature, French 2 or Physics, you may prefer that your child receive tutoring assistance rather than make posters or attend clubs or meetings about the latest social justice cause. 

It is important for parents to know their district’s policies on Field Trips, Walk-Outs and In-School Clubs & Meeting participation. Defending Education wants to help parents ask the right questions, so they can feel confident their child is safe and learning during the academic day. Please let us know if you are seeing a rise in these types of activities and your district’s policies on these issues. 

Question to Ask Your District:

Field Trips

  1. What is the district policy on Field Trips? What is the parental notification process and how do the parents communicate that approval? 
  2. What is the district supervision for Field Trips? How many students is each staff member responsible for?
  3. How will the students be transported to and from a Field Trip?
  4. What is the emergency medical procedure should a child have a medical emergency during a field trip?
  5. How will the student get home after the Field Trip?
  6. What is the district’s definition of a Field Trip?

Walk-Outs (also known as a Rally or Protest)

  1. What is the district policy on Walk-outs? What is the parental notification process and how do the parents communicate that approval? 
  2. What are the consequences for students who walk out of school during the academic day?
  3. What are the consequences for teachers and staff who encourage walk outs during the academic day?
  4. What is the district policy on using academic day time to create posters etc. for walk outs? What are the consequences and teachers and staff who enable poster-making etc for walk outs during the academic day?
  5. What school supplies are made available to students who wish to create walk out posters etc. during the school day?
  6. What supervision does the school provide during student walk outs?
  7. Who is accountable should a student/s be injured during a school-sanctioned or supported walk out?
  8. What are the consequences for students, teachers and staff who walk out, on or off campus, during the academic day?

In-School Clubs & Meetings

  1. Does our school offer special lunch clubs that meet during the school day? If so, how is participation in these lunch clubs determined? Do parents need to be notified and submit approval? Who supervises and organizes these meet ups?
  2. Does our school offer clubs that meet during the school day?  If so, how is participation in these clubs determined? Do parents need to be notified and submit approval? Who supervises and organizes these clubs?
  3. What is the parental notification process for any clubs or meetings that occur during the school day that are not academically focused? 
  4. Are any clubs or meetings announced during the morning announcements that are not communicated to parents via email or newsletters prior to the gatherings? What is the process for including notification about clubs or meetings that occur during the school day as part of the morning announcements?
  5. Who can recommend a club or meeting and what is the approval process? Who is ensuring the stated purpose of the club or meeting is in fact what is being discussed?
  6. Are these clubs run by outside organizations? If so, do these organization officials have access to students?