Public commenter raises safety and equity concerns over Oakland Unified field trip documentation

A public commenter at an Oakland Unified School District board meeting said the district lacked mandatory documentation for a planned student field trip, including signed waivers, emergency health contact information and evidence of criminal background checks for chaperones.

"You don't have any health documents in case of an emergency," the public commenter said, adding, "You don't have any waivers that say you can't be sued." The commenter said they had contacted a parent at McClymonds High School who had not received notice of the trip and alleged staff at several schools "just pick the kids they wanna pick." The commenter also named Jeffrey Taylor as a former employee and said three adults involved were affiliated with the Oakland Athletic League.

The complaint framed the issue as both a student-safety and equity concern, saying some families had not been informed about how to apply for the trip and that outreach to parents had not been consistently executed. "What should have been happening, every school involved should have made an outreach to parents about this field trip and given them information on how they could have applied," the commenter said.

A committee member asked why Castlemont was "conspicuously missing" from the documentation, saying, "I certainly believe in field trips, with my teacher hat on and my administrator hat on," and requesting someone online explain Castlemont's absence. Meeting staff indicated general counsel was not online and no immediate explanation was recorded in the transcript.

The board then took the routine consent vote. Clerking staff recorded the roll call and adoption of the general consent report: Director Latta — yes; Director Williams — yes; Director Berry — yes; Director Thompson — yes; President Bruhart — yes; Director Hutchison — absent; Vice President Bachelor — absent. The clerk announced the general consent report was adopted and the meeting was adjourned.

The transcript does not record a district response to the specific allegations about missing waivers, health forms or the chaperone background-check documentation, nor does it record any immediate follow-up action assigned to staff during this meeting. The public comment and the committee member's query about Castlemont stand on the record as concerns raised during public comment.