How to Go to a Speech and Debate Tournament
PALM BEACH COUNTY REQUIRED DEBATE TOURNAMENT PAPERWORK
All debate functions require paperwork to be turned in to the school’s activities director. Please be sure when possible to submit Field Trip Requests and TDEs 2 weeks prior to the trip. Here’s what is generally needed:
- Field Trip/Activity Planning Report and Approval Request (Form #1894, via Liquid Office). Coaches need to attach a copy of the tournament invitation to Form #1894, and include the names of all chaperones and their titles (teacher, parent, coach, etc.). Form #1894 must be very specific in the itinerary section. If it is an overnight tournament, coaches MUST include hotel information. Rooms MUST be interior rooms; students can’t stay in a motel with doors facing the parking lot.
- TDE (Temporary Duty Elsewhere) for instructor/coach (Form #0032, via Liquid Office). The sponsor/coach personal TDE must have their principals’ signature on form #1894 before they submit, or the TDE will be rejected. (A PDF copy of the approved Form #1894 must be attached to the TDE. Coaches should attach a copy of the tournament invitation as well.)
- TDE for chaperones (Form #0032, via Liquid Office)
- TLE (Temporary Learning Elsewhere) request
- Field Trip Permission (Form #0755, via Liquid Office)
- Field Trip Activity Roster (Form #2149) needs to be submitted three weeks prior to overnight tournaments.
Check with your activities director for the proper TLE for your school.
IMPORTANT: Your principal and book keeper will not let you cut checks for hotels, charter buses, tournament registration fees, etc., until all paperwork has been approved by your school’s administration and the area superintendent’s office (and if the tournament is out of state, it needs clearance from district headquarters, too!). Do not make financial commitments you cannot guarantee until you have all paperwork back in your hands with the required signatures!
(For fundraisers and non-tournament functions off-campus, coaches need to fill out a TDE as well.)
Palm Beach School District programs that need to reserve a charter bus need to make sure the company is on the approved vendor list. To check, Go to the district’s All-In-One Purchasing Website (as part of its Purchasing Department) and do a search for “Charter Bus.”
The Palm Beach Catholic Forensic League requires two additional documents be signed by the student and a parent/legal guardian, and submitted to the coach: