Board adopts student-travel policy; performing-arts teachers ask administrators to relax a one-student-per-bed memorandum rule

The Granite School District Board of Education approved Article 8A18, the district’s student-travel policy, as a second and final reading on Oct. 7. The vote followed public comment from performing-arts teachers who urged the district to allow flexibility in administrative travel guidance — specifically the memorandum that implements the policy — to reduce costs and maintain student participation.

Leah Tarrant, a Taylorsville High School choir teacher speaking for a group of performing-arts teachers and booster parents, said the current administrative memorandum’s guidance that “student accommodations shall include 1 student per bed” has reduced hotel availability, increased travel time and raised per‑student costs to the point that some trips became infeasible. “A $200 decrease in cost through different lodging rules would allow many more of our students who wish to attend, but are worried about the unnecessary higher cost,” Tarrant said.

District counsel and administrators told the board the policy text is intentionally broad and that some operational specifics — including accommodation configurations — were placed in an administrative memorandum rather than in board policy. That memorandum can be revised through the superintendent’s office, the district said; the board and administrators agreed to consider the performing-arts teachers’ concerns and to re-examine the memorandum’s details with input from law and policy staff.

Why it matters: The student-travel policy sets district-level expectations and safety guardrails for off-campus educational trips. The administrative memorandum governs specific logistics that affect trip feasibility and cost; teachers warned a strict one-student-per-bed rule can make trips more expensive and harder to staff, and they asked the administration to consider more flexible approaches used by neighboring districts.

Board action and next steps - The board approved Article 8A18 (student travel) on a second and final reading; the policy itself remains in force after the board vote. - Administrators said the one‑student‑per‑bed guidance appears in the accompanying administrative memorandum (not the board policy) and that administrators can revise that memorandum. Board members asked the administration to take performing-arts feedback into law and policy review and to return with recommendations.

Quote and response - “We believe that returning to this practice or allowing flexibility for our large programs will maximize student participation, increase safety, and overall provide experiences which enhance the public school experience for Granite School District students,” Leah Tarrant said on behalf of performing-arts teachers. - Board and district leaders said they value the teachers’ feedback; Law & Policy Committee members requested the administration and general counsel review the memorandum and discuss potential adjustments before formalizing changes.

Ending The board adopted the student-travel policy; the administration will review the travel memorandum in light of teacher feedback and return to the Law & Policy Committee with options for how specific rules (including accommodations) should be applied or revised.