Field trips are a regular part of the Contractor’s work. Vehicles that are not in use for midday service shall take students (both with and without disabilities) on field trips.
Inquiries
For inquiries concerning field trips, call the Field Trip Office at (718) 392-8855 (or any other telephone number designated by the Director).
Notification
The Contractor shall receive notice of a field trip assignment through the field trip application. In most cases, trips are scheduled at least one weeks in advance; however, in some cases shorter notice may be given. In those cases, OPT will reach out to the vendor by a combination of telephone and email.
Confirmation
Schools are asked to confirm the trip with the Contractor one day before the scheduled trip. If the School does not confirm a trip cancellation, the Contractor should not assume that the trip is canceled. Liquidated damages will be deducted for any field trip not performed.
Drivers
During a field trip, the teacher is in charge. Drivers and attendants should be courteous and considerate; they should provide help with Bus Safety Drills if the teachers request help conducting such drills. Link to Mini Bus Safety Drills: https://ptsi.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Bus-Safety-Drills_Complete.pdf
Attendants
Attendants are only required to attend field trips if the trip is assigned to a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
Tolls and Parking
Toll responsibility depends on what is indicated at the bottom of the trip details. It will either show School pays or Vendor pays under E-Z Pass Toll responsibility. If a toll-free route is available to/from the trip destination, the school can choose to take that route, but the bus must be back at the school no later than 1:30pm.
Schools are required to pay for parking (if applicable).
Routing
Before leaving the school, the lead teacher and the driver should agree on the route to be taken from the school to the trip destination and back to the school. If they cannot agree on a route, the driver should ask the dispatcher to call the Field Trip Office for a decision. The driver and teacher must agree on a departure time from the trip destination to arrive back at the school by 1:30 PM before leaving school.
Lateness
Buses should arrive at the school for the field trip as soon as possible after the last morning drop-off. Liquidated damages will be assessed for lateness.
If the Teacher and pupils are late returning to the bus for the trip back to school, the driver should call the dispatcher who must call the Field Trip Office. The Field Trip Office may authorize the driver to return without the teacher and pupils if the lateness interferes with the regular afternoon dismissal schedule. Teachers risk having field trip privileges withdrawn from their school if they delay the return to the school unnecessarily.
Under no circumstances is a class to be left at the field trip destination without specific authorization from the Field Trip Office.
If there is any indication that the bus will be late for the school’s regular afternoon dismissal because the class has not returned to the bus, the dispatcher must call the schools that will have late pickups, as well as the Field Trip Office.
Liquidated damages that result from an afternoon pickup lateness due to the failure of the field trip class to return to the bus on time may be waived only if the lateness has been reported to the Field Trip Office.