Woburn School Committee Won't Authorize Overseas Trips

WOBURN, MA -- The Woburn School Committee said it will no longer authorize international school trips, a departure from past practice. While the board did not change policies on international trips and exchange programs, teachers organizing such trips will no longer be covered by the district's liability insurance or be able to reference Woburn Public Schools will fundraising for international travel.

"If [trips are booked through] a private company, and it's not a school-sponsored event, then we don't have to approve it," committee member Ellen Crowley said at a school committee meeting earlier this month. Crowley, who chairs the policy subcommittee, was pressed for further explanation, as other members raised concerns that teachers would plan trips only to find out they could not go.

"We're not going to allow it. They just might happen," Crowley said. The Massachusetts Association of School Committees has advised school committees to not formally approve international trips to protect themselves from liability.

Subscribe to Woburn Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Patch file photo via Shutterstock.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).