News  State Ethics Commission Issues Updated Guidance on School Trips

Boston, MA — The State Ethics Commission has issued updated guidance regarding public school teachers who chaperone school trips. The updated guidance is included in the Public School Teacher FAQs on the Commission’s website.

Generally, when someone other than the school district or the teacher pays for the teacher’s travel expenses on a school trip, the teacher must file the appropriate disclosure forms and have them approved by his or her appointing authority. These disclosures and approvals are required when using certain exemptions to the conflict of interest law, which otherwise prohibits public employees from participating in matters involving their own financial interests and bars them from accepting gifts and gratuities worth $50 or more that are given in connection with their job.

Although teachers may accept compensated or reimbursed travel for school trips when filing the required disclosures and obtaining the necessary approvals, they generally may not accept other payments or incentives given in connection with a school trip. For example, a teacher planning or chaperoning a school trip may not accept $50 or more worth of stipends or rewards, including travel points, from a travel company in relation to the school trip.

A public high school teacher recently paid a $7,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by accepting travel points and thousands of dollars in stipends from a travel company for organizing and leading school trips.

Additional information regarding how the conflict of interest law applies to teachers is available in the Public School Teacher FAQs.

The Commission encourages public employees to contact the Commission’s Legal Division at 617-371-9500 for free advice if they have any questions regarding how the conflict of interest law may apply to them.