Rhode Island Lawmakers Address Field Trip Controversy

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island lawmakers are again taking up the issue of school field trip funding.

On Wednesday night, the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee approved an amended bill that would allow school districts to charge for the trips, counteracting a controversial decision by the previous education commissioner, Ken Wagner, that banned districts from collecting funds from students and their families. Under the newly amended bill, families who cannot afford field trips fees will be covered by the district, and no students can be singled out because they could not afford to pay for the trip.

On Thursday, Senator Hanna Gallo, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, announced that she plans to introduce a bill that would allow school committees to find field trips through the budget.

"That advice [from Wagner] was confusing to many, and as a result, school districts have been canceling their field trips," Gallo said. "That is an incredibly unfortunate — and I’m quite sure unintended —consequence of the letter. The goal of this legislation is to provide clarity."

Under Gallo's bill, field trips would need to meet the state's basic education program regulations. Parents and guardians would be allowed to donate to the field trip fund.

"The bill does not, however, allow schools to directly ask families for money to pay for field trips because schools can’t do that," Gallo continued. "Schools can let families know that donations are always welcome, but asking parents to contribute would create a two-tier education system — one for students who can afford to pay for valuable experiences like field trips, and one for students who can’t. That is not what public education is about. Students who sit next to each other in a public school classroom should have the same opportunities available to them."