Southgate school board holds first reading to clarify field-trip policy; adult-education trips to be excluded from K–12 oversight

At a Nov. 11 meeting of the Southgate Community School District Board of Education, district staff presented for first reading a minor revision to the district's field-trip policy intended to limit the board-level approval requirement to PreK'12 students.

The presenter said the existing language appeared to reach adult-education programs and that was not the intent. "We do have a field trip policy provision that brings to the board certain types of field trips," the staff member said, adding that adult-education participants sometimes arrange travel such as bus tours to Holland, Mich., or ferry trips to Mackinac Island and those trips should not require the same board oversight as K'12 student travel. The presenter said the change was intended to ensure adult-ed offerings can continue without extra board-level approvals.

Because the revision was presented as a first reading, the board did not vote on the policy change; the presenter said the policy will return for formal approval at a subsequent meeting. The change, if adopted, would clarify the policy's scope and confirm that routine adult-education trips are managed through the district's adult-education processes rather than the K'12 field-trip approval pathway.

Board members did not express opposition during the first-reading presentation. The district did not provide additional legal citations or an implementation timetable during the meeting; those details were not specified in the presentation.