Bound by stringent liability and safety expectations for students and staff, the Chinook's Edge School Division has cancelled three pre-approved student international trips outside Canada and the United States for the 2016-17 school year.
However, the board, following discussion on the issue at its Jan. 13 monthly meeting, directed administration to work with those communities – Delburne, Sylvan Lake and Didsbury -- to take full responsibility for the trips to Europe, and has prepared a detailed information package to help each of them make informed decisions.
“That is the hope, that community groups will be able to pick up those international trips because they have far less restrictions on them than the school board has in approval,” said board chair Colleen Butler.
As well, the board decided that all pre-approved international trips for the remainder of the 2015-16 school year will go ahead under the umbrella of the division.
However, each community will be contacted by the division to determine whether it would be agreeable to take responsibility for its foreign trip.
There are three European trips pre-approved for 2016, including ones for Carstairs' Hugh Sutherland School, Innisfail High School, and another for Olds High School.
“If they (communities) can, we will support them,” said Kurt Sacher, the division's superintendent of schools, noting the board has been shown the detailed plan on how they can support communities with this year's approved international trips.
As for the ones that are too late in the planning stages to shift responsibility to the communities, Sacher said he does have the authority to approve those trips to go ahead.
“One way or another I do believe those trips will be proceeding. They will either go on the community umbrella or the board umbrella,” said Sacher, noting the board did not want to go beyond the 2016-17 school year with its new policy on international student travel because circumstances could change and there is an election year scheduled for 2017.
As for all trips to the United States starting in the 2016-17 school year, the board decided each will be decided on a case-by-case basis, noting there are ample learning opportunities south of the border that are aligned with the division's curriculum outcomes.
“What they (board) are trying to do is balance that community need for foreign travel with their really high level of responsibility for safety. The expectations for a school division around student and staff safety are extremely high,” said Sacher.
“When a community group decides to take responsibility for a trip, they can make their own decisions about what level of risk they want to take, whereas a school division faces much more pressure to be extremely careful.”
Last month, board members decided to seriously examine the issue of student foreign trips following a warning bulletin from the Alberta School Boards' Insurance Exchange, an organization that provides insurance for provincial school districts.
The agency noted that terrorist attacks, notably the ones in Paris last November where 130 citizens were massacred, should prompt all school boards to re-evaluate whether planned or pending student international trips should go ahead.
Several school boards across the province have since changed their policies on student international travel in a variety of ways, noted Sacher.
“I think the board has carefully considered all the ramifications of this particular topic. I truly believe they have really found a solid middle ground where they are working with their communities to still help students achieve the ultimate goal, which for parents and those students is to experience foreign travel,” said Sacher.
“The board would be somewhat negligent to not respect what they are hearing from their insurer and the legal advice they have received around the heightened level of litigation potential you face when you continue to offer all sorts of trips under that particular umbrella.”
Meanwhile, the board for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools is still “monitoring” the situation in Europe and waiting for more information before considering any international student travel cancellations, a decision it made last month.
However, Haleigh Packer, the board's communications coordinator, said last week it's expected the board will deal with the issue of international travel when it meets again on Jan. 26.
"That is the hope, that community groups will be able to pick up those international trips because they have far less restrictions on them than the school board has in approval."Colleen ButlerChinook's Edge board chair
"The board would be somewhat negligent to not respect what they are hearing from their insurer and the legal advice they have received around the heightened level of litigation potential you face when you continue to offer all sorts of trips under that particular umbrella."Kurt Sachersuperintendent
