Gov't plans legal revisions, safety support after deadly 2022 accident raised fears among educators Children on a field trip line up in front of buses at Haeundae, Busan, on April 16. (Yonhap) Teachers will not face civil or criminal liability for accidents during school field trips unless they intentionally or through gross negligence violate safety rules, under measures announced by the Education Ministry on Thursday.The ministry unveiled a set of measures to support school field trips, as more schools have canceled or scaled back off-campus activities amid concerns that teachers could be held legally responsible for unforeseeable accidents.Under the plan, teachers would receive expanded legal support after accidents, greater on-site safety management support and access to a wider range of field trip programs developed by the ministry.The trend of forgoing field trips has become more pronounced since a deadly accident in 2022 in which an elementary school student was killed by a bus during a school trip. Prosecutors indicted the student’s homeroom teacher and an assistant teacher on charges of professional negligence resulting in death.Teachers’ groups have said many instructors fear taking students on excursions, arguing that they are being forced to bear excessive responsibility for unpredictable accidents.President Lee Jae Myung also ordered a review of the issue on April 30, calling on the Justice Ministry and the Education Ministry to examine whether teachers face unreasonable legal burdens related to school field trips.“Field trips are also an important part of education,” Lee said. “If there are problems, they should be corrected, and students should be able to participate through support for costs, reinforcement of safety personnel or additional staffing.”Expanded legal support Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin announces Thursday the ministry's plan to support field trips at the Ministry of Education in Sejong. (Yonhap) The Education Ministry said it would work with the National Assembly to revise the School Safety Act to strengthen protections for teachers against civil and criminal liability over safety-related accidents during field trips.The proposed amendment would require the education minister to draft a field trip safety manual. Teachers would be exempt from legal responsibility unless they are found to have intentionally or through gross negligence violated the manual.What constitutes an intentional violation or gross negligence will be determined by precedents from cases involving similar laws that protect firefighters, police officers and doctors while performing their duties, the ministry said.New guidelines under the revised law would also be provided to police to protect teachers from the initial stages of an investigation.When an accident occurs, a dedicated team from the relevant education office will immediately help with the response, while a designated lawyer will be assigned from the outset to provide legal advice and support throughout the litigation process.The ministry said it would also expand support for teachers’ litigation costs and compensation liabilities.All complaints filed with schools will be handled at the institutional level through school complaint response teams, rather than by individual teachers, the ministry said.More safety personnelThe number of safety personnel assigned to field trips will be increased from one person per 50 students to one person per class. There is an average of 20 students per class, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.The safety personnel will be assigned by local education offices and receive training in first aid, student guidance and emergency response, and the ministry said it would also develop new online courses to support their training.The government will expand inspections of field trip facilities, programs and vehicles during peak field trip seasons, together with local education offices.The ministry said the field trip safety manual would outline parents’ role in safety guidance. Parents will be asked to recognize potential risks in off-campus educational settings and provide safety guidance at home to help prevent accidents.Reducing teachers’ workloadThe ministry plans to assign dedicated field trip support staff to all district education offices nationwide to assist with work currently handled by teachers, including bookings, arranging support personnel and safety inspections.It will encourage the expansion of field trip package programs run by private operators, in which companies take integrated responsibility for accommodation, meals, transportation, program operations and safety management.The ministry said it would strengthen links between school curricula and field trips so classroom learning can be connected to on-site experiences, and develop and distribute field trip programs rooted in students’ local communities through contests and research projects.“Field trips are an important educational activity that connects learning inside school with real life,” Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said. “We will build a safety net that protects both teachers and students.”