trips. The reason is that for a release to be enforceable the person =
signing should be made reasonably aware of the particular risks, as well =
as the rights being waived. Since the risks involved in attending field =
trips vary widely by location and activity, it's unlikely that one form =
will suffice. California and many other states also limit what rights =
students and parents can waive.
Please also be carefully about providing "permission slips" as opposed =
to "releases" or "waivers." The former is simply an acknowledgment that =
a student may participate in a field trip. It provides minimal benefit =
to the school. The latter is designed to protect the school from =
potential liability. In California at least (I don't know about other =
states) public schools have broad statutory immunity for injuries that =
result from field trips (and sports). Therefore, public schools may =
rely on permission slips, but not so for private schools.
Finally, we recommend against electronic permission slips, if by that =
you mean obtaining signatures electronically. The purpose of a =
signature is to verify that a particular person agreed to specific =
terms. That is nearly impossible (as far as I can tell) when someone =
just clicks a box on his or her computer screen. There is federal and =
state law regarding electronic signatures, but we've found it to be =
generally unhelpful. California Government Code =A7 16.5 gives =
guidelines for public agencies that you may find useful.
Thanks,
Michael
-----------------------------------------------------------
Michael C. Blacher
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
6033 W. Century Blvd., Suite 500
Los Angeles, CA 90045
=20
Phone: (310) 981-2000
Fax: (310) 337-0837
www.lcwlegal.com
=20
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-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators =
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Mitch Bostian
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2010 3:16 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Global/Electronic Permission Slips
All --
Hope your summers are terrific and relaxing.
We are a K-8 school that takes a LOT of field trips. It's a major =
logistical headache (and paper drain) to send out and collect permission =
slips for every trip, no matter how small -- hard on the teachers, =
challenging for families, etc. Do any of your schools just have parents =
sign a "global permission slip" that authorizes students to go on =
school-related, daytime field trips? If so, would you be willing to =
share one with me? Anyone know why such a slip would be problematic?
Along these lines -- anyone use an electronic permission slip of some =
kind? =20
I'm sure this information exists, but I am having some difficulty =
tracking it down, and ISED is invariably my go-to in these circumstances =
-- thanks for any help.
Best,
Mitch
*****************************
Mitch Bostian
Head of School
The Berkeley School
1310 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 665-8800 ex. 102
mbostian@theberkeleyschool.org
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