District 128 proposes rules to make educational tours more affordable; recommends mandating travel agents for air and international trips

District 128 administrators on June 9 presented a committee report that recommends reorganizing school‑sponsored educational tours and several measures to increase access, affordability and safety.

Ben Rodriguez and Larry Varn, who co‑led the ed‑tour committee, told the Program & Personnel Committee the district proposes two trip categories — domestic and international — to simplify approvals and processes, and would remove routine competitive travel (for example, IHSA‑sponsored state tournaments) from the ed‑tour approval pipeline through implied board consent.

Why it matters: educational trips have high out‑of‑pocket costs for families. The committee sought ways to reduce costs, create predictable payment schedules and guarantee student safety on trips that involve air travel or international travel.

Recommendations and clarifications presented to the board included:

• Categorize tours as domestic (Category 1) or international (Category 2) and treat IHSA‑sponsored competition travel as routine with implied board consent, reducing last‑minute approval burdens on staff. Ben Rodriguez said the change would remove the need for “scrambling” to get approvals for predictable athletic travel.

• Extend payment periods by scheduling recurring tours years in advance so families can pay over 2–4 years rather than a few months, lowering monthly payments.

• Create one annually committed D128 “daring trip” that the district would prioritize to ensure at least one accessible travel experience for students of all backgrounds.

• Consider an Ed Tour Scholarship Fund and targeted subsidies; district staff noted full scholarships are rare and suggested a combination of partial scholarships, fundraising and limited full awards depending on available funds.

• Keep “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) insurance mandatory for international trips and domestic trips with costs above $1,000; make it optional for lower‑cost domestic trips only if the board wishes. Staff said CFAR typically costs about 7 percent of trip price (for example, $200–$250 on a $4,000 international trip) and can cover roughly 75–90 percent of costs depending on terms.

• Require use of a professional travel agent for all international trips and domestic trips involving air travel, to protect students and staff in the event of delays or cancellations; administrators said agents provide rapid assistance when flights are disrupted.

Administrators told the board a practical approach to reduce per‑student costs could include eliminating some optional add‑ons, redistributing complimentary chaperone rooms across participants and applying professional development funds to cover chaperone expenses. Staff estimated savings of 20–30 percent if the district did not use a travel agent for certain domestic trips, but recommended travel agents remain mandatory where air travel or international logistics create significant risk.

The committee also asked whether the board supports making CFAR optional for lower‑cost domestic trips; several board members expressed concern that families least able to afford insurance are the ones most hurt when trips are canceled and suggested an opt‑out option with explicit written acknowledgment of the family’s financial risk.

Administrators said there were roughly five international trips this school year and that some student groups and activity accounts already maintain partial scholarship funds; full scholarships for international ed tours are rare. Staff also said the District 128 Foundation for Learning has been contacted and is aware of the committee’s discussions about partnership possibilities.

Board members asked staff to return with follow‑up information. At the Program & Personnel Committee’s close, the chair said staff would follow up on recommendation #1 (insurance policy clarification) and make an addition to recommendation #3 (funding/chaperone clarification).

Sources: Educational‑tour committee presentation and Q&A, June 9, 2025.