Stephens County — Field trips for Stephens County public school students are on hold until the school board can update a policy regarding such trips.

At the Stephens County Board of Education meeting Tuesday, board members voted to table a request for upcoming field trips at Stephens County Middle School until after the board makes a final decision about a proposed update to the countywide policy on field trips.

The vote on the new field trip policy is expected to come up at the August school board meeting.

Brenda Kelley, planning, operations and policy director for Stephens County School System, presented the policy Tuesday and said the revised policy tightens the guidelines for field trips by requiring teachers to present information about the academic necessity of any proposed trip, the total cost and how it will be funded.

“The one that we are trying to put on the table is very specific, and it will give some criteria into how you plan a field trip, what goes into the planning,” Kelley said.

The topic of field trips has come up in several recent board of education meetings as the board wrestles with how to respond to dramatically rising fuel costs. Board members have questioned the number of field trips taken by county schools and the associated cost that is absorbed by the school system.

Board member Beth Pinkerton said she felt that officials should limit the numbers of all field trips, not just the ones to places a long distance from the county.

The cost for any in-county field trip – for example a trip to Travelers’ Rest Historic Site – is absorbed by the school system now. Out-of -county trips are paid for by each school and/or the parents of the students taking the trip.

The proposed policy is available for public comment on the school system’s Web site.