Ethics agreement lets teachers travel free as chaperones

Public school teachers may resume traveling free as chaperones on educational field trips without violating ethics laws, under an agreement between the teachers union and the State Ethics Commission announced Tuesday.

The move puts to rest a dispute that erupted in 2015 when the commission issued advice prohibiting teachers from accepting free travel from tour companies on trips they promoted and organized with those companies. The decision sparked an uproar and a public debate about the value of field trips and the role teachers play in them.

“We are very pleased to reach an agreement that will provide clarity to our teachers while allowing them to continue a long-standing practice,” Wilbert Holck, director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said Tuesday in announcing the deal. “Our teachers always want to set a good example for their students. This agreement makes sure that our teachers are not only doing the best they can for their students, but are doing their jobs with the utmost integrity.”

The settlement by the union and the commission allows teachers to plan trips with private companies and travel free as chaperones as long as they abide by Board of Education policies, including a requirement that the travel has clear educational benefit for students.

Teachers must also inform students and their families in advance that the tour company is covering their costs. Typically, tour companies allow one chaperone to travel free for every eight to 10 travelers on a tour.

The agreement prohibits teachers from accepting personal rewards, such as tablet computers or additional travel, beyond having their costs covered on the tour.

The issue first cropped up when the commission received an inquiry regarding a teacher at King Intermediate School who worked with a tour company to organize and promote a trip for students to Washington, D.C., and New York. Chaperones would receive free airfare, room and board, plus points that could be used for personal travel or items. The group leader also would receive a separate, free weekend trip to New York for an orientation.

In a letter dated March 30, 2015, the commission determined the arrangement was not ethical, saying it violated the gifts law. In August of that year it issued broad advice to that effect, putting teachers on notice that they could risk sanctions, and warning teachers they faced a conflict of interest by acting on behalf of the tour company and as public employees.

The HSTA filed suit over the issue, and Circuit Judge Rhonda Nishimura invalidated the commission’s advice last June. She faulted the commission for its delay in responding to the case and for directing its advice to all teachers, not just the individual involved. Such broad advice should have been subject to rule-making and public input first, she said.

Daniel Gluck, who took over as executive director of the commission in August, has been working with the HSTA to craft a resolution to the issue.

“Hawaii’s teachers work hard and exemplify integrity for their students every day,” Gluck said in a statement. “This agreement ensures that teachers can continue to provide invaluable travel opportunities for Hawaii’s students while demonstrating the highest ethical standards for their schools and the community.”

The decision was welcomed by Hawaii teachers as they prepare to open their classrooms for the spring semester.

“It’s nice because it takes us out of that limbo situation,” said Scott Clarke, a Baldwin High School teacher who often takes his history students to Europe during school breaks. “It’s a great way for students not only to get outside of Hawaii and see Europe, but also for them to see actual history firsthand. … Local tour guides can give them so much more than I can give them in a classroom.”

In the past the trip has attracted from 10 to 30 students. This year just two students signed up for the tour, which had to be organized privately and could not use the school’s name in fundraising.

Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi welcomed the new deal as well.

“Teachers work hard to create these educational opportunities that go beyond the classroom,” she said. “For many of our students, these trips are the first time they’ve traveled beyond their communities.”

HSTA President Corey Rosenlee said the students are the ones who will benefit the most from the agreement.

“Now that the Ethics Commission has changed their advisory based on the court case and our discussions with them, we now have a policy that I believe works for everyone,” he said.