UIL and/or Advancement Due to a Contest

Revised 11/18/2021

Lubbock Independent School District

Student Travel Procedures

Effective: September 2021

Purpose: The following procedures related to student travel are meant to create equitable

opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular or co-curricular activities, where travel

is necessary. The student travel procedures are intended to create reasonable limitations on

such travel to minimize lost instructional time and to control district costs. In rare

circumstances, the superintendent may approve exceptions to the guidelines.

SECTION A:

The following section relates to the processes or events for approval of trips and for which

student travel will be permitted.

A.1. Travel for UIL and/or Advancement due to a contest

Students may be permitted to take school-sponsored overnight trips for UIL or other sanctioned

competitions based on advancement through various levels of competition. Prior approval from

the Superintendent or designee, based on the recommendation of the principal, shall be

required for such trips <See Non-Athletic Overnight Student Travel Request Form>. ALL

UIL athletic travel is pre-approved through the athletic office and does not require any

other approval.

Such trips shall be scheduled in a way that minimizes the loss of instructional time. Such trips

shall be approved only if the hours of competition would cause hardship to contestants without

an overnight stay or if the overnight stay precedes a nonschool day and is funded by the

club/organization of students involved.

A.2. Non-UIL Travel, including advancement due to contests that are not UIL

When a school-sponsored overnight trip is not associated with UIL or a contest based on

advancement from one level to the next, the following conditions shall apply:

1. Final approval by the Superintendent or designee shall be arranged prior to the first day of

the semester in which the trip is to occur. <See Non-Athletic Overnight Student Travel

Request Form>

2. One out-of-state overnight trip every other school year may be permitted, except as provided

in these guidelines, for each organization.

3. One in-state overnight trip per school year may be permitted, not in the same year for which

an out-of-state overnight trip is approved, except as provided in these guidelines.

4. Such trips shall be scheduled in a way that minimizes the loss of instructional time, i.e., on

weekends or during summer vacation, winter holidays, or spring break, or on other holidays.

In any event, a maximum of three instructional days shall be permitted for such a trip.

5. These trips shall be scheduled in a way that does not conflict with major instructional events,

such as State and/or District mandated assessments, exam days, and the like.

6. The District shall not be responsible for any expenses for trips not sanctioned by the school

district. For example: trips funded by students during Spring Break or the summer.

7. Within the Region XVII ESC service area or in New Mexico, trips shall be approved only if

the overnight trip precedes a non-school day.

NOTE: Special invitations that conflict with the conditions listed in this policy (e.g., to perform at

bowl games, in bowl parades, or at tournaments, and the like) shall be considered on a case-by-

case basis for approval by the Superintendent or designee.

A.3. Foreign Travel (travel outside the continental United States)

Trips by student organizations that involve travel outside of the continental US shall be allowed

only for high school students and shall require prior approval of the Superintendent. <See Non-

Athletic Overnight Student Travel Request Form> Such travel shall be allowed only to

countries where the political climate is favorable to US Citizens. Foreign travel approval will be

very limited.

The District shall not be responsible for any expenses.

Foreign travel shall be scheduled in a way that minimizes the loss of instructional time, such as

on weekends or during summer vacation, winter holidays, spring break, or on other holidays.

Absences for the purpose of foreign travel may not exceed three days.

Clubs and/or organizations will only be allowed to take a foreign trip once every 4 years, if

approved.

The following applies to ALL trips:

Any district paid trip should not use third party companies (Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com,

Vrbo, Airbnb) for travel arrangements. All district paid trips need to be arranged directly through

the vendors (hotels and flight companies).

When third party companies are used for arrangements and/or contracts are involved, the

organization must follow Lubbock ISD contract procedures. If the contract is over $100,000,

Board Policy requires board approval no matter the funding code.

Any trips planned and/or taken that are not approved through this process will not be considered

school sanctioned trips.

Students are not allowed to swim on any district sanctioned trip. (exception: Lubbock ISD swim

teams and Lubbock ISD 3

Grade swimming program)

A.4. Allowable UIL Athletic Tournaments and UIL Athletic Overnight Trips

a. Varsity team tournaments: (Team sports excluding individual sports)

 One local tournament (Lubbock County) allowed.

 One “Away” tournament funded by Lubbock ISD

 Only two (2) nights allowed

One “Away” tournament fully funded by Activity Funds

 Fully funded = entry fees, meals, lodging and transportation

expenses (bus driver and/or mileage vs. motor coach or activity

bus)

 No Lodging = tournament funded by Lubbock ISD

(Midland/Amarillo)

 May substitute two (2) matches/games for one tournament with Athletic

Department approval

b. Individual Sports:

 Tennis (including Team Tennis), Swimming & Diving

 Lubbock ISD will fund up to six (6) nights lodging per year (total for

fall and spring and includes district meet or tournament if needed) as

approved by the Assistant Athletic Director of Personnel and

Business.

 Cross Country & Track, Golf, Gymnastics, & Wrestling

 Lubbock ISD will fund up to four (4) nights lodging per year (total for

fall and spring and includes district meet or tournament if needed) as

approved by the Assistant Athletic Director of Personnel and

Business.

Additional nights shall be funded with other sources, such as activity or booster

club funds with approval by the Campus Principal and Assistant Athletic Director

of Personnel and Business

c. Sub-varsity teams:

 May have two (2) local tournaments (Lubbock county)

 One (1) tournament “Away” from the county that would require meals and

entry fees.

 Sub-varsity teams are not allowed overnight trips where lodging would be

necessary. Exceptions may be allowed in some circumstances and requires

approval of the Executive Director of Athletics.

d. Students are not allowed to swim on any district-sanctioned trip. (Exception:

Lubbock ISD Swim & Dive teams and Lubbock ISD 3

grade swimming program)

MEALS FOR STUDENTS & SPONSORS

e. Meals will be provided for trips beyond 60 miles and in other circumstances where

students/sponsors are involved over a 6-hour span, such as track meets and other

UIL academic competitions. (link to district mileage chart)

f. Sack lunches may be provided by Aramark. (advanced notice is necessary)

g. Maximum allotment allowed for food per student/sponsor per day is $25.00 with $5

for breakfast, $8 for lunch, and $12 for dinner. When providing all three meals, the

amount per meal is flexible as long as the total does not exceed $25. When

providing two meals, the combined total costs cannot exceed totals for specific

meals. Ex. Breakfast/Lunch = $13 and Lunch/Dinner = $20.

SECTION B:

The following District procedures/rules relate to travel arrangements provided for approved

District events as outlined in Section A.

B.1. Student Safety

For field trips and non-athletic trips, a parent permission form (page 13) is required. Sponsors

shall accompany students on trips outside Lubbock ISD boundaries.

Students will be required to use District transportation. However, the parent may request that

his or her child be allowed to ride with or be released after the event to the parent, or another

adult designated by the parent, if parent has signed and submitted the required form to the

campus principal at least 24 hours prior to the trip. In addition, exceptions may be made in

situations as determined and approved by the team sponsor. This form is not needed for local

trips when transportation is not provided back to the school. (Example – on site dismissal after a

performance at the Buddy Holly Hall). <See Student Travel Parent Release Form>

Note: The Principal will keep a copy of this form on file.

B.2. Departure Times & Substitutes

For all trips, the principal must approve departure times. This approval must consider the effect

on class time so as to minimize loss of instruction.

The principal is responsible for working with his/her teachers when substitutes are needed to

cover sponsors/coaches missing class to travel with teams.

B.3. Scheduling Priority

The following provisions outline the types of vehicles that will be provided for specific student

groups.

a. Varsity Athletic Teams

1. District-Owned Motor Coaches (when available)

2. District-Owned Activity Buses (when available)

3. Outside Charter

4. Yellow Bus – Trips within Lubbock County and an Activity Bus is not

available

b. High School Bands, Fine Arts, Varsity Cheerleaders, and Pom Squads

1. District-Owned Motor Coaches (when available)

2. District-Owned Activity Buses (when available)

3. Outside Charter

4. Yellow Bus– Trips within Lubbock County and an Activity Bus is not

available

 Motor Coaches may be substituted with Activity Buses for smaller groups

 LHS, MHS, CHS, EHS Bands are allowed to travel to district, and playoff

games.

 LHS, MHS, CHS, EHS Bands are allowed to travel to non-district games within

160 miles one-way.

(May change annually as schedules are developed)

c. Instructional Teams and Other Student Groups

1. District-Owned Activity Buses

2. Yellow Buses – Trips within Lubbock County and an Activity Bus is not

available

d. Sub-Varsity Athletic Teams

1. District-Owned Activity Buses (When Available, and trip is further than 60

miles one-way)

2. Yellow Buses

Please Note:

 Varsity UIL (Athletic/Instructional) events will have first priority for district-

owned motor coach and activity buses.

 Trips with the longest travel time will receive scheduling priority for District-

owned buses.

 The number of sponsors accompanying students may be limited due to space

availability on the bus.

Drivers:

e. All Fine Arts groups and varsity sports teams will have Durham drivers. (exceptions

may be made by the assistant athletic director, or fine arts director)

f. Sub-varsity teams traveling further than 160 miles one-way will have Durham drivers,

otherwise sub-varsity teams will be required to take a yellow bus or an activity bus (if

available), and be transported by a coach or district employee who will be paid as

follows: (exceptions may be made by the assistant athletic director)

 $25 plus $10 per hour of driving time (pre-determined by a mileage chart)

 Coaches or district drivers shall pickup and deliver the bus back to the

Transportation Department.

 Security will be provided at our Transportation Department when buses are

scheduled for return after normal hours of operation. Security is available

beginning at 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 24 hours a day Saturday

and Sunday by contacting 806-517-7370 or 806-219-0783.

 When coaches or District employees are to drive the bus, the athletic

department will be responsible for the arrangements.

 For in county trips, district drivers are paid a total of $10.00.

 Forms for payment of drivers will be available on the athletic page of the

Lubbock ISD website.

B.4. Timeline

All approved trip requests for buses must be received by the Procurement

Services Department at least ten (10) working days prior to the event. This

includes outside charter buses, district-owned motor coaches, and district-owned

activity buses.

B.5. Trip Requests

Requests for motor coaches and activity buses must be made on the “Bus

Request Form” located on the Lubbock ISD Procurement Services website (Link

to Bus Request form) You must be signed into the website to retrieve the form.

1. Prior to submitting a bus request form to the Procurement Services Office, all

travel must be first approved by the principal. Then additional department

head approvals are as follows:

 Athletic Trips- Campus Athletic Coordinator

 Fine Arts Trips- School Principal

 Fine Arts Trips Out of State- Fine Arts Executive Director and

School Principal

 All other trips- Associate Superintendent

2. Once approved, the department heads will forward the request to the

Procurement Services Office.

3. Yellow buses should be reserved at:

https://tripfinder.transfinder.com/tripfinder

4. All travel itineraries need to be submitted to the Procurement Services

Department one week prior to the date of the trip. This includes all district

owned motor coaches and activity buses. *Outside Charter Companies vary on

their timelines for itineraries.

5. Trip changes and cancellations, made during working hours, must be emailed

to Carol Evans (carol.evans@lubbockisd.org). Trips scheduled on district

owned buses need to be canceled within 24 hours of scheduled trip. If a trip

changes or a cancellation is needed during non-business hours, please

contact Dawn Davis with Durham Transportation at 806-517-7370 or the

charter company directly. Most charter companies require that buses be

canceled within 15 days of scheduled trip. If you do not comply with this rule

you will be charged a cancellation fee per charter company rates. (Link to

charter co. contacts)

6. All performing arts organizations will perform several times at Buddy Holly Hall

throughout the school year. Reservations for the hall can be made by

accessing the google form available on the Lubbock ISD Fine Arts website.

Campus directors or principals may request pre-selected dates and times. All

transportation costs to and from the hall will be paid for from the campus travel

account.

HS BANDS, FINE

ARTS, VARSITY

CHEERLEADER &

POM SQUADS

INSTRUCTIONAL

TEAMS & OTHER

STUDENT GROUPS

VARSITY ATHLETIC

TEAMS

SUB-VARSITY

ATHLETIC TEAMS

BUS SCHEDULING

Is trip outside of

Lubbock Co.?

Is an Activity Bus

available?

Is trip greater

than 60 mi. (one

way)

Is a Motor

Coach available?

ACTIVITY BUSMOTOR COACH CHARTER BUS YELLOW BUS

Is an Activity Bus

available?

Yes

B.6. Costs: All trips where Booster Clubs or PTAs are responsible and District

vehicles are used

a. All booster club/student club funded trips where a district-owned motor coach or

activity bus is used, there will be a charge of $33.72 per hour plus $0.56 per

mile(subject to change), while the bus driver is on duty, plus fuel costs (the cost of

fuel changes daily.)

b. An account number must be included for all booster club/student funded trips, etc.

Trips will not be confirmed without an account number.

c. Contact Carol Evans at 219-0265 or by email at carol.evans@lubbockisd.org for a

price quote. A detailed itinerary must be provided to receive a price quote no later

than 10 working days prior to the trip.

B.7. Other Rules Related to use of District vehicles

a. No drink cups, sunflower seeds, or gum are allowed on the District Buses. Only

drinks with twist off caps are allowed, i.e. bottled water, and bottled soda drinks.

b. Only G and PG-13 rated movies are allowed.

c. For all approved overnight trips, a detailed itinerary must be provided to the

Procurement Services Department/Carol Evans (carol.evans@lubbockisd.org) no

later than 10 working days prior to the trip.

d. If scheduled to leave Lubbock (departure time) “spot time” would be no more than 30

minutes prior to departure time. For example, departure time is 1:00pm departing

from Central Office so “spot time” would be 12:30pm.

e. Transportation requests that do not conform to the District’s established

transportation request timeline (at least 10 school days prior to commitment) will be

classified as a “Late Request.” Late transportation requests require the approval of

an associate superintendent. Approval will be based on the department’s ability to

schedule and service the late trip request.

f. Only Durham drivers will be driving district-owned motor coaches.

g. It is the responsibility of the trip sponsor to provide meals and a separate

room for all overnight trips for Durham and other charter company drivers.

You will still be responsible for all meals for drivers on day trips as well.

h. Please remember to include an account number for all school sponsored booster

club or student funded trips. Without an account number, your bus will not be

confirmed.

LUBBOCK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

LUBBOCK, TEXAS

NON-ATHLETIC OVERNIGHT STUDENT TRAVEL REQUEST FORM

DATE______________

SCHOOL NAME_________________________________________________________

Type of trip being requested (choose one)

_____Travel for UIL and/or advancement due to a contest (submit form)

_____Non-UIL Travel, including advancement due to contests that are NOT UIL related

_____Foreign Travel (travel outside the continental United States) (ONLY for HS) (form

submission required 6 months in advance)

Destination ______________________________________________________________

Sponsor Name(s) &

Phone #_________________________________________________________

Organization/Club Name___________________________________________________

Departure Date_______________

Return Date_______________

Number of school days missed (max of 3) _______________

Number of nights in hotel__________

How is this trip financed? _________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Sponsor(s) Name (print) ____________________________________________________

Sponsor(s) cell phone number _______________________________________________

Principal’s signature _______________________________________________________

C.O. Department Head signature _____________________________________________

Superintendent and/or designee signature _____________________________________

An original copy of this form will be available in the associate superintendent’s office and a copy will be sent to the

campus principal.

LUBBOCK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

LUBBOCK, TEXAS

STUDENT TRAVEL PARENT RELEASE

Students will be required to use District transportation. However, the parent may request that his or her

child be allowed to ride with or be released after the event to the parent, or another adult designated by

the parent, if parent has signed and submitted the required form to the campus principal at least 24 hours

prior to the trip. In addition, exceptions may be made in situations as determined and approved by the

team sponsor.

This form is not needed for local trips when transportation is not provided back to the school. (Example –

on site dismissal after a performance at the Buddy Holly Hall).

Note: The Principal will keep a copy of this form on file.

DATE: ___________________

Dear Sponsor or Coach:

I (we) _______________________________ grant permission for _______________________________

(Parent or Guardian) (Name of Student)

to return with our family from ___________________________ on ______________________________

(Location and Activity) (Date)

or to do the following: __________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

I (We) have read the above stated Lubbock Independent School District Board Policy and agree that

Lubbock Independent School District shall not be liable for injuries to students riding in transportation not

provided by the school district.

_____________________________________ _________________________ ________________

Signature – Parent/Guardian School Date

_____________________________________

Parent/ Guardian Contact #

_____________________________________ __________________________ ________________

Signature – Coach/Sponsor School Date

_____________________________________ __________________________ ________________

Signature – Principal School Date

PARENT AUTHORIZATION FOR STUDENT TO MAKE OUT-OF-DISTRICT TRIPS

Students who represent the Lubbock Independent School District on out-of-town trips are

expected to maintain very high standards in every respect at all times. They are expected to

attend and be on time for all sessions and activities scheduled for them. In the event of

overnight trips, they are expected to be in their rooms at the times designated by their sponsors.

Each student will be responsible to one or more faculty sponsors who will supervise the

activities of the student for the trip. Negligence in attending sessions, in meeting curfew

requirements, or in failing to maintain our standards of conduct may make it necessary for the

sponsor to send the student home at his/her parents’ own expense.

The Student Code of Conduct is applicable during each out-of-district trip. Self-discipline is the

key element for a pleasant experience for both the sponsor and the student when the student is

on a school-related trip. Students who are involved in a serious disciplinary offense on a

school-related trip, such as the use, possession of, or being under the influence of illegal drugs

or alcohol; stealing, fighting, going to an unauthorized room, or some other serious offense will

face serious disciplinary action which may include one or more the following:

1. Parent/guardian will pick up the student at the time of offense to escort home or the

parent will reimburse the District for all of the student’s expenses incurred while on the

trip.

2. The student will be held liable for damages to property.

3. The student may be removed from this school activity as well as other school co-

curricular activities

Parent/Guardian Release:

_______________________________ has my permission to attend out-of-district trips or

school-sponsored extracurricular activities. I further understand that my son/daughter accepts

the responsibility to abide by the conditions outline above.

Please review the information outlined in the form with your son/daughter.

Date: __________ Signature of Student: ____________________________________

Signature of Parent/Guardian: _____________________________

(Rev. 2021)