Permission slips

[Racer Named Fisk]

So, what constitutes a legal permission slip? And what's their raison d'etre (pardon my French)?

As I understand contract law (very little indeed), there needs to be an "exchange of consideration" for a contract to be binding. In other words, you give me the widgets, I give you 100 bucks, we're both cool. If we sign this and one of us renegs, there's a ground for breach of contract.

So, just cuz some little whippersnapper goes into my box factory with a signed permission slip, how does that affect anyone if he falls into the box machine and gets turned into a cardboard box??

So, does the PS protect (a) the whippersnappers, (b) the box factory, (c) the schools, (d) the parents, or what??

[gigi]

WAG, but my sense is that the basic contract with the school is that the child will attend class and activities at the school as a normal day. When a special trip takes place, this is in a sense outside of the normal expectation of what the child will be up to. The proprietors of the site being visited presumably have their own insurance, etc., to protect them in case of accident.

I don't know how legally binding permission slips would be, but they do prove that the parent knew, and agreed with, the fact that the child would be going somewhere else that day. It protects the school from parents claiming they never said the child could leave school grounds.

[Bear_Nenno]

They are exactly what they claim to be: Permission Slips. They only give the child permission to leave school and go on a field trip. They are not an attempt at a Hold Harmless or Release of Liability Contract or anything like that. It's just a permission slip.
Field trips are not the only things that require permission slips. Sexual education requires permission from the parents. Also, when a teacher wishes to show a controversial or rated R movie in class, permission slips are sent home.
They just need the parent to say it's ok for their child to do the activity, whatever it may be.