Legal Question in Civil Litigation in North Carolina

Do not cross out portions of the form. The school is going to take the attitude that you either sign or don't sign. If you don't sign, then your child does not go on the trip.

Without seeing the form, I do not know whether it effectively waives liability or not. It depends on the activity and what the cause of any injury to the child would be. A school or other government entity can only be sued to the extent that it maintains insurance. If it does, then a school cannot waive its own negligence. However, there are some activities that are inherently dangerous, like sports shooting, skiiing, roller-skating or horseback riding. In that case, the waiver will probably be effective - the school wioll not be liable if your child rides a horse, falls off and is hurt. However, if the teacher was not paying attention when your child was hurst at the zoo, they might be liable.

I do not handle education law and would have to research this issue, which I will do for a fee. If you need an answer quickly, then common sense should rule here. If you want the child to go on the field trip and it is not per se a dangerous activity, then it is up to you to assess the likelihood of your child being hurt versus the educational value of the trip. If the risk is slight, then sign the permission slip if you want the child to go on the trip. If the risk of harm is more substantial, then don't sign and the child will not go on the trip.

But do not act clever and think that you are going to outsmart the school by crossing things out on the waiver. The school will not let your child go on the trip.