EAST PROVIDENCE — The School Committee, during a discussion of the matter at its January 14 meeting, tried to temper the concerns of local parents and students as it pertains to field trip procedures in the district.

The topic was under an agenda item for an update by the committee’s policy board members, Ward 4 representative Jessica Beauchaine and Ward 3’s Karen Oliveira. Ms. Beauchaine admitted to having reservations about broaching the subject in public, but because the issue has been simmering state-wide for nearly a year it needed to be addressed.

While noting that legislation to firm up the policy is being introduced in the General Assembly this session, which started only the previous week, Ms. Beauchaine said East Providence’s guidelines have been in existence since 2018 and remain virtually the same. She stressed the district policy states clearly no student will be charged to go on most trips. She made the distinction between daytime field trips and overnights, the latter of which often are optional and are tied to academic performance and behavioral standards as well.

“Karen and I decided to say that this was going to be a continued working document until there is (state) legislation that I know is being put in,” Ms. Beauchaine said.

She added, among those things being considered, the Policy board is likely also to study practices of other districts and at city schools by level, potentially allowing for each of them separately — elementary, middle and high school — to determine their own guidelines, which would need administrative and committee approval.

As currently written here, Ms. Beauchaine said some schools put money in their budget for field trips, some receive funding from PTAs, can use federal “Title 1” monies for children in need and receive donations from individuals.

“I definitely know field trips have not stopped in this district, and I hope that they will continue,” Ms. Beauchaine added.

At-Large member Joel Monteiro applauded the wording in the Policy board’s document, which reads “No child will be denied for financial reasons.”

“At the end of the day, that’s a hard line we need to state,” said Mr. Monteiro.

State Rep. Joseph McNamara (D-Dist. 19, Warwick, Cranston), a former teacher and the chair of the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee, introduced the aforementioned revised legislation last week.

“It’s going to be readdressed because I think people misinterpreted the legislation,” said Mrs. Oliveira. “But some districts went to the extreme, saying you can’t have field trips because they didn’t want to deal with it. Others are funding it through the general budget. Everyone is all over the place.

“So they’re going to readdress it because the intent was not to cause the uproar that is has. So we want to go slow and hope that (state legislators) are reasonable in their wording. That it’s clear and we can go along with what the state wants…I think their intent was positive, but it was misinterpreted.”

The overarching issue dates back to the 2018-19 term, when legal counsel for the East Greenwich School Department requested an opinion from the Rhode Island Department of Education.

In April of last year, then state Commissioner of Education Ken Wagner sent a reply, he said guided by Rhode Island General Law 42-35-2.12.

Mr. Wagner opined districts could not charge students to go on field trips, but that there were three ways in which funds could be provided: Districts may budget funds for trips, so long as the trip is part of the instructional program and all students have the same ability to attend; Fundraising for trips is permissible to supplement district budgeted funds, so long as individual students do not have mandated fundraising targets that must be met as a requirement for participation; and individuals may be charged fees for a trip, but only for trips that are not organized by the district using district resources, including district-funded staff time.

“It was an interpretation of the former commissioner that started this all. This is legislation that’s been on the books for a long time,” Superintendent Kathryn Crowley said at last week’s meeting.

She continued, “Some district, I believe it was East Greenwich, asked for an interpretation of the policy and Commissioner Wagner issued this statement that sent some people and some districts into what Karen described to you as radical changes, charges. And on the advice of our attorneys, because we have never denied anyone at least in my four years I have been here…If some people can’t afford it, the principals know we’ll take care of it.”

According to a statement issued through the assembly for Rep. McNamara, his bill as written “would allow a school district to request a contribution of money from a student or the student’s parent or legal guardian to pay, in whole or in part, for the cost of district sponsored field trips, dances, clubs, and other district sponsored or based programs of extracurricular activities, provided that the district would pay the costs to meet any deficit.”