Alberta School Boards Declare Rest of World Too Dangerous for Canadian Kids

Two Alberta school boards have canceled all trips to foreign countries for the next year, citing safety concerns, particularly in relation to threats from ISIS and recent mass shootings in the United States.

The Edmonton Catholic School District (ECSD) and the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) have both canceled all trips for the next year, with the ECSD singling out terrorism as a cause for concern when sending students abroad on field trips.

The Canadian Press reports that a memo was put out Monday notifying parents and students of the canceled trips, which includes about 20 over the next year.

The memo makes note of both the Paris attacks and recent statistics that show there have been 355 mass shootings in the last 336 days in the US.

"With recent events in Paris and California, and heightened concerns in other cities, we feel it best to limit our travels to within Canada for the remainder of this school year," the memo reads.

An insurance company that umbrellas a number of school districts in Alberta is also calling for all school boards in the province to suspend their trips, specifically pointing out the increasing threats from ISIS as a cause for worry.

"The unpredictability of ISIS as to where these extremists will hit next is a concern, as they have supporters throughout the world," a message sent from Alberta School Boards' Insurance Exchange to schools in the province reads.

The CCSD also suspended all trips until September 2016, when the board will "reevaluate" the threat level. The board made no mention of terrorism specifically, but it's pretty clear the school board thinks the rest of the world is just way too cray for Canadian children right now.

Follow Jake Kivanc on Twitter.