HONOLULU — The Hawaii Department of Education wants clarification of an advisory from ethics attorneys who say teachers organizing educational trips for students should not travel free as chaperones at tour company expense.
Attorneys for the Hawaii Ethics Commission last month said the state Ethics Code bans state employees from accepting gifts that appear to reward official actions.
In a six-page letter, commission staff attorney Virginia Chock said it was inappropriate for teachers to organize and promote school trips and take free travel and other perks, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
Department of Education spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said the department wants to talk about the recommendation, which would reverse a longstanding practice.
“The department is in full support of schools expanding learning opportunities for students, and when teachers do this, they are not just traveling recreationally,” Dela Cruz said. “On the contrary, not only is it instructional, they chaperone a number of students. When they say ‘free travel,’ we actually feel they haven’t even been compensated for that extra effort that they are putting in.”
The department already has an oversight process, she said. Trips must be approved by the complex area superintendent.
Commission Chairman Ed Broglio said Saturday the chaperone issue did not come up for a vote but was in a report by the executive director in February.
“My recollection is that during the meeting we said it should be up to the school and not the teachers to put the trips together,” Broglio said. “As it is currently structured it does raise some ethical issues.”
The issue arose when the Ethics Commission was asked about a spring break educational trip for King Intermediate students to Washington, D.C., and New York City.
Teachers chose the tour company and promoted the trip to students. For every 10 students, one chaperone would receive a free trip, including airfare, room and board. Teachers also could earn points that could be used for personal travel or items. The group leader was eligible for a separate, free weekend trip to New York for orientation.
More than 50 eighth-graders paid $2,600 each to go on the trip.