Teach Ag Tips TRAVELING WITH STUDENTS

BY: RAY PIENIAZEK, AG TEACHERS ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

1. You should always check with your school what the correct documentation is needed to travel with students. All schools are different as to the proper forms and procedures to follow.

2. You should always have emergency contact information on each student you travel with, so you can contact them if an issue arises. Knowing which parent or guardian is the right one to contact is also very important.

3. You should have a parent permission form for the student to travel with you during the year or for each one. It would be best to verify with the district what is acceptable for a permission slip.

4. A good practice would be to provide an itinerary for the parents of the students who are traveling with you. Provide leave time, what vehicles you are traveling in, where you are staying overnight, and the return time.

5. Please be aware that parents may have apps on the student’s phone that may indicate where they are and even how fast the vehicle is traveling when they track them. One of these apps is called Life360.

6. When staying at hotels, request that all rooms be on the same floor and near each other. If they are on separate floors, be sure and have an adult chaperone on each floor. You should always have a curfew for your students to be in their room. They should not leave the room unless they are with an adult. Check each room to ensure that the boys and the girls don’t have adjoining rooms. Never allow boys and girls to occupy the same room unless you are in the room or the door is open.

7. In most situations, if students leave your sight they should always be with at least one other student or a group of students.

8. Always check your school district’s policy on students staying in the same room as the teacher. It is best that students always have their own rooms, even if it is just one student in that room.

9. Some agriculture teachers take the students' phones away at night, and some even remove the telephones from their room. If you do this, make sure your administration is okay with it and that the parents know you are doing this.

10. Always submit your list of names traveling with you to a school official before departure. If someone does not show up and it is a school day, make sure the attendance clerk knows that they are not with you.

11. If you drop your students off and leave while they are in a contest, make sure this is an acceptable practice in your district. Is the expectation you stay where they are, or is it okay to leave the site? Also, do your best to promptly return to them after the competition so they do not feel abandoned.

12. If students violate school rules on the trip, you are duty-bound to report those actions to the school immediately or upon return to the school. You should get the number of a school official to report to if an emergency happens.