School boards hesitant to postpone field trips to the U.S.

School boards around Ontario are hesitating over postponing U.S. field trips in hopes some clarity may still emerge around the new travel restrictions at the U.S. border.

The Greater Essex County District School Board remains the only board in the province to postpone such cross-border excursions due to the uncertainty over whether all students could gain access to the U.S. The board made the decision last week with a couple of field trips to the U.S. looming.

“We are not aware of any school boards making similar decisions,” said Heather Irwin, who oversees issues management and media relations for the Ministry of Education.

“When it comes to extracurricular activities and field trips, school boards determine the best course of action for their students. We expect that school boards are prioritizing the safety and security of our children and are putting their best interest first.”

Stephen Fields, communications director for the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, said his board went through its list of field trips Monday morning and there’s nothing scheduled stateside until April.

“We’ve had some discussion on this and, for the time being, we’re going to watch closely what happens with the travel ban and how it’s dealt with legislatively before making any decision,” Fields said.

“No one is certain about what’s going to happen. We have some time to work with.”

Fields said there are trips planned to New York City, Chicago and San Francisco.

“We don’t want kids to miss the experience of a lifetime they’ve worked hard for if we can avoid it,” Fields said.

“At the same time, the safety of the students comes first. I understand (with the time constraints) why the public board had to make their decision now.

“If all the students can’t get over, it’s understandable no one goes.”

Fields said to date there haven’t been any calls of concern from parents who have a child scheduled to participate in a U.S. field trip.

Other Catholic school boards in the province are also taking a cautious approach in playing for time.

“I’m not aware of other Catholic boards making the same decision (as Greater Essex),” said Sharon McMillan, director of communications for the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association.

Scott Scantlebury, public relations officer for the public school board, said the Ministry of Education hasn’t offered any opinion on how boards should handle the border situation.

“It’s very simply a local school board decision responding to circumstances created by the uncertainty at the border,” Scantlebury said.

“I don’t see the ministry getting involved in this.”

However, Scantlebury said he was inundated with calls from media from around the world over the weekend.

The New York Times, CNN, the Globe and Mail and even a reporter from Israel contacted Scantlebury about the board’s decision.

“They’re trying to make it a political story,” Scantlebury said.

“There’s no political story involved in this decision. It’s no different from 2001 (9-11 attack), when we postponed field trips because of the uncertainty at the U.S. border and the sudden need for a Canadian passport.”

We’re going to watch closely what happens with the travel ban and how it’s dealt with legislatively.