The District 202 school board will meet tonight to finalize changes to Evanston Township High School’s field trip policy.

The board seeks to change the policy after a disagreement with parents over a canceled trip last year. ETHS’ Latin Club had planned a trip to Italy, but the board decided to cancel it as a result of safety concerns in light of the war with Iraq. The tour company would not provide a refund because the cancelation took place less than 15 days before the students were scheduled to leave, and some parents were upset.

Most of the students who signed up for the trip will travel to Italy in December.

The revised policy, introduced and discussed at the board’s Oct. 27 meeting, would state that the board has the right to cancel trips. Board members hold this right was already in trip contracts; the update would just clarify the position.

The board also will hear a report tonight on the high school’s new math graduation requirement. ETHS began to require three years of math classes for graduation last year. The school added tutoring services to help students deal with the extra classes.

“Our impression is that kids … who have three years of math get into better colleges or go to college,” said Margaret Lurie, board president.

In other business the board will discuss preparations for a meeting from the “critical friends,” a group of education experts who visit the school on a regular basis and prepare an evaluation. The visits are part of the North Central Accreditation process.

The school board meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at ETHS, 1600 Dodge Ave. The meeting is open to the public.