English schools:
Student trips to US raise no questions
With refusals of some Canadian
citizens at the US border more common since President Trump’s anti-immigrant orders, tourist trips have declined. The Canadian Girl Guides have suspended their trips, and this affects student tourism. With some school trips still planned for the USA, parents and grandparents are wondering what will happen if any pupils in a busload are turned back at US customs. What happens to them? How do they get home? Is the whole bus turning back? How will this affect the youths? And do the school boards have policies for this situation?
The Western Quebec School Board does not; several French-language boards do.
According to board chairman James Shea, “The responsibility rests with the Principal and the School’s Governing Board. The Bulletin’s questions are reflective of current situations upon which the WQSB has not deliberated. There has been no action to date to review this policy.”
One French language board has sent a car with its bus, in case any student is refused entry, and the refused students are driven home. This measure has already received widespread French media coverage. There is a concern over the psychological effects of such refusals.
The Western Quebec Board’s policy states that “a permanent school board employee who has been approved by the principal must be involved in the planning of the trip and participate on the trip to provide supervision.” In addition, an appropriate adult-student ratio must be maintained for the entire trip. There is no mention of planning for any difficulties at the border.
Nick Giannakoulis, WQSB parent commissioner, acknowledged the parents’ questions are valid and must be answered. “This is a concern, and now it has been flagged. It hasn’t been raised before. It’s going to be raised at the next parents’ committee meeting,” he told the Bulletin. He argued that a contingency plan should be in place in the event a student in a bus is refused entry while the others are cleared.
Others have wondered if a more proactive and protective policy, such as the Girl Guides’ decision, shouldn’t already be in place, given the high-profile nature of the anti-immigrant actions of the current US government.
