<p>Would you let your high schoolers take a spring break trip to Cuba? Here’s the story (couldn’t link properly, but it’s all over the news here):</p>
<p>NEW YORK – A spring break trip to Cuba taken by students and a teacher from a public high school in New York City has raised concerns about whether the group violated U.S. restrictions on travel to the Communist country and the possibility some could face thousands of dollars in fines.
“We are investigating,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters on Monday.</p>
<p>A city Department of Education spokesman said this year’s trip to Cuba was not officially sanctioned by the Beacon School, although the school’s Web site featured a call for applications and a list of selected students, as well as details of previous sponsored trips to the island.</p>
<p>“We were told that it violated State Department travel restrictions,” said department spokesman David Cantor.</p>
<p>He added that the education department had asked a special investigator to see if any school regulations were violated on this trip or previous ones. However, it’s unclear what the education department could do if the teacher, Nate Turner, and the students acted independently, Cantor said.</p>
<p>The Beacon School has a history of sponsoring trips to foreign countries, including South Africa, Mexico, Spain and France. In 2004-05, according to the school Web site, students had to take a class if they wanted to go on a trip to Cuba.</p>
<p>In mid-October, Turner posted a release on the school’s Web site advertising that applications for this year’s trip were available. An essay was one of the requirements. It was unclear how many students actually went on the trip, though a school Web site posting listed about 30 students who had been selected for it.</p>
<p>Turner did not respond to an e-mail request seeking comment on Monday. Neither did school principal Ruth Lacey.</p>
<p>Lee Kalcheim, whose twin sons chose not to go after being told only one could take the trip, said he felt it was ridiculous that there would be any problems with such a foray.</p>
<p>“Our policy toward Cuba is nonsense,” Kalcheim said Monday. “You antagonize. You just make things worse. We should have just had normal relations with them.”</p>
<p>Traveling to Cuba has been difficult for more than 40 years because of the country’s rocky relations with the United States. In 2004, the U.S. implemented special restrictions that made it even more difficult.</p>
<p>Molly Millerwise, spokeswoman for the U.S. Treasury Department, declined to comment on the Beacon School case.</p>
<p>The department hands out travel licenses for Cuba trips, and Millerwise said permission is granted to some groups, including for those seeking to engage in religious activity or humanitarian aid.</p>
<p>Educational licenses are granted to graduate and undergraduate students for trips that last a minimum of 10 weeks, but no such licenses are granted at the high school level, she said. People who violate sanctions can face penalties ranging from warnings to a $65,000 fine.</p>