Field trip injuries and the school waiver

The exact waiver language

Education Code § 35330 lets school districts and county superintendents conduct field trips and excursions. Subdivision (d) then says:

"All persons making the field trip or excursion shall be deemed to have waived all claims against the district, a charter school, or the State of California for injury, accident, illness, or death occurring during or by reason of the field trip or excursion. All adults taking out-of-state field trips or excursions and all parents or guardians of pupils taking out-of-state field trips or excursions shall sign a statement waiving all claims."

(Educ. Code § 35330). The waiver is written into the statute; it applies whether or not a permission slip was signed. The signed-statement requirement in the second sentence is only for out-of-state trips.

What it means for a claim

• Who it names. The waiver covers claims against the district, a charter school and the State of California. It does not mention private parties, such as a charter bus company, another driver who causes a crash, or the owner of a venue the class visits. Claims against them are handled like other injury claims, generally with a two-year lawsuit deadline (CCP § 335.1).
• Whether the activity is covered. The waiver applies to a field trip or excursion under § 35330. Whether a particular outing qualifies, and whether an injury happened "during or by reason of" it, depends on the facts. Ordinary school-day activities on campus are generally a separate question governed by the rules on campus injuries.
• Keep the deadline anyway. If there is any claim against the district, the six-month Government Claims Act deadline still controls (Gov. Code § 911.2). Presenting a timely claim preserves the question instead of letting the deadline answer it.

Community colleges

Community college districts have their own field-trip rules, and some publish field-trip guidance on their risk management pages. The claim details for Riverside County's college districts are on our community colleges and UC Riverside page.

After an injury on a trip

1. Get medical care where you are, and keep all records and receipts, including travel costs for treatment.
2. Write down who organized and supervised the trip, the transportation company and the places visited.
3. Keep the permission slip, itinerary and any messages from the school.
4. If a vehicle crash was involved, get the crash report; our crash report guide explains how.