What the law requires to take a class out of school: a field trip guide

Taking a class out of school is not something you decide on Monday and do on Wednesday. There is a regulatory framework that applies even to a single-day outing, and most of the problems we see come from starting late.

This is the guide we wish every class teacher had to hand before planning.

The framework: two rules

Field trips and graduation trips are regulated by Chile’s Education Superintendency:

- Circular No. 0482/2018, for primary and secondary education - Exempt Resolution No. 0860/2018, for early childhood education

On top of that come the CONASET recommendations on transport, which are the ones that most often take schools by surprise.

1. Parental consent

It is the best known requirement and the most absolute: it must be in writing and signed, for every student.

A student without signed consent **cannot take part** in the activity. There is no verbal consent, no text message, no "they will bring it later".

Ask for them with time to spare. Collecting thirty signatures takes longer than it looks, and on the day of the outing there is no way to fix a missing one.

2. The technical-pedagogical plan

Every outing must respond to a curriculum plan, with clear and assessable learning objectives. The destination is not enough: you have to be able to explain what will be learned there and how it will be verified.

This document normally goes to the school’s Technical-Pedagogical Unit, and it is what justifies the outing to the administrator.

3. Registration and documentation

The outing must be recorded in the Student Departure Register. The documentation required also includes:

- List of students attending - List of teachers and accompanying parents - Credentials with the name and surname of the staff in charge - Identification cards for students, with the educator’s phone number - A route sheet given to the school management - Transport details: driver, number plate and company

Municipal schools must also notify the Provincial Education Department using the corresponding form.

4. Transport: where things most often go wrong

This is the part most schools do not know about. According to the requirements set out by the Ministry of Education, the coach must have:

- Seatbelts in every seat - A seat for every passenger — nobody travels standing - GPS - A professional driver, with a criminal record certificate and a certificate of fitness to work with minors - Registration in the National Registry of paid school transport services - A replacement coach with the same specifications, in case the main one fails - Vehicle age within the required limit

And a deadline that catches out anyone planning on the fly: the inspection request to the Undersecretariat of Transport must be submitted 7 working days in advance if the outing departs from an urban area, and 10 working days if it departs from a rural one.

Seven working days is almost two full weeks. That is why an outing "for next week" usually cannot meet the rules.

5. Before leaving: scout the site

The regulations also require checking the site before taking the class: vehicle traffic, signage, distances, and risks such as dangerous animals, unprotected water or crowding.

It is the kind of check an operator with people on the ground does as a matter of course, and that a school organising on its own should schedule separately.

6. In early childhood education, the ratios change

For the youngest levels the supervision requirement is considerably higher:

- Nursery: one adult per child - Middle level: one adult per two children - Transition: one adult per four children

The short list, to get started

If you are organising an outing this term, start here:

1. Define the learning objective and write the plan 2. Count backwards from the date: transport needs at least two weeks 3. Send out consent forms as soon as the date is confirmed 4. Check the transport company’s National Registry entry and its replacement coach 5. Scout the site, or ask the operator for the report

Where we come in

On a field trip the content comes from the school; we provide the logistics so it can happen: transport that meets the rules, coordination on the ground and the documentation the school needs to submit.

If you are planning one and want to go over the timeline and requirements, get in touch.

This guide summarises public information from Chile’s Ministry of Education, the Education Superintendency and CONASET, current at the time of publication. Regulations can be updated: always check the requirements in force with your school administrator and the relevant authority before confirming an outing.

Vivencias Travel is a tour operator founded in Bariloche with a presence in Chile, Brazil and Mexico. In Chile it runs graduation trips, field trips and educational tourism, with offices in Santiago, La Serena and Temuco.