A field trip is one of the few school activities where a parent is asked to sign something and pay something in the same week. It is worth knowing that the rules governing it are written down, are national, and are more protective of the family than most parents realise.
Which DepEd order covers field trips?
DepEd Order No. 66, s. 2017, the Implementing Guidelines on the Conduct of Off-Campus Activities, issued 27 December 2017. It covers co-curricular and extra-curricular off-campus activities in all public and private elementary and secondary schools under the K to 12 curriculum. Field trips, educational tours, camps and outreach activities all sit inside it.
The order was issued to lift a blanket ban on field trips that DepEd had imposed earlier that year. That history matters, because it explains the tone: the order is written as a set of conditions under which trips may resume, not as encouragement to hold them.
Three principles run through it. Off-campus activities must align with the competencies of the K to 12 curriculum, must uphold child protection principles so that no learner is disadvantaged, and must observe safety and security protocols before, during and after the activity.
Is joining a field trip compulsory?
No. The order is explicit that participation, especially by learners, in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities is voluntary, and that no learner shall be required to participate.
The second half of that protection is the part parents rarely hear: all co-curricular and extra-curricular activities shall have no grade equivalent. There is no legitimate way to convert non-attendance into a lower mark, a deduction, or a missing requirement, because the activity carries no grade in the first place.
If a learner is told that skipping the trip means an incomplete, that is not the order being applied. It is the order being ignored.
Who has to approve the trip?
In public schools, the school head reviews the proposal and endorses it to the Schools Division Superintendent, who approves it. Division and regional offices evaluate and recommend activities held at their own levels. Private schools follow whatever approving authority their own manual of rules establishes.
The practical test for a parent: a trip that has been through this process has paperwork behind it. One announced only in the classroom group chat may not have.
What are the money rules?
Two sentences in the order do most of the work.
Off-campus activities shall not be used as a means to raise funds for the school or an association. A trip is not a fundraiser. Pricing it above cost so the difference funds something else is outside the rule.
Under no circumstances shall off-campus activities place undue financial burden on the learners and their families. This is the provision to cite when a trip's cost is out of proportion to what families in the school can carry.
These sit alongside the standing no collection policy, reiterated by DepEd Memorandum No. 41, s. 2024, which prohibits the sale of tickets and the collection of contributions in any form from learners and teachers of public and private schools, for any project or purpose, whether voluntary or otherwise. Our no collection policy guide covers the standing rule and the narrow exceptions to it.
What safety requirements apply?
The order sets concrete conditions rather than general encouragement:
- Vehicles must be certified roadworthy and not more than ten years old
- Drivers must hold professional licences
- Vehicles must carry valid insurance
- Travel insurance is mandatory for all off-campus activities
- Consent forms must be accomplished and submitted to the activity head before the activity
- Kindergarten to Grade 3 learners must be accompanied by a parent or guardian
Vehicles arranged through external transport operators are expected to be duly certified by the Department of Transportation and the Land Transportation Office. A parent may reasonably ask to see that this has been checked.
Is the order still current?
Yes, as far as we can establish. DepEd Order No. 66, s. 2017 has been reiterated rather than replaced. Division and regional memoranda issued in 2023, 2024 and again in 2026 restate it, usually paired with a reminder about the no collection policy. A regional memorandum in 2024 announced a review of the order, but we have found no issuance superseding it.
That is worth stating plainly rather than assuming. Standing orders in Philippine basic education are frequently reiterated, occasionally amended and rarely announced loudly when they change. Our guide on how to find and read DepEd orders covers going to the source rather than to a summary.
What a parent can reasonably ask
- Ask who approved it. For a public school, that is the Schools Division Superintendent, not the class adviser.
- Ask what the fee covers. The order prohibits the trip being used to raise funds, so a breakdown should be available.
- Ask about the insurance. It is mandatory, not optional, and it is a fair question.
- Ask about the vehicle. Roadworthy certification, driver's licence class and the ten-year age limit are all specified.
- Decline without anxiety if you need to. Participation is voluntary and there is no grade attached. That is the order's own language, not an interpretation of it.
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Sources
- DepEd — DO 66, s. 2017: Implementing Guidelines on the Conduct of Off-Campus Activities
- Supreme Court E-Library — DepEd Order No. 66, s. 2017
- DepEd — DepEd reminds schools to adhere to 'no collection policy' (DepEd Memorandum No. 41, s. 2024)
- DepEd Region III — RM No. 106, s. 2024: Review of DepEd Order No. 66, s. 2017
- SchoolFinderPH — DepEd No Collection Policy
- SchoolFinderPH — How to Find and Read DepEd Orders
Disclaimer: off-campus activity rules are set by DepEd issuances that are periodically reiterated and revised, and division offices add their own instructions. Confirm with your school head or schools division office before relying on any requirement here.
