At Fairmount High School in Ohio, a suburb of Dayton, a group of teenagers kick off the day with an assembly by a band called “High on Life.” Mark ‘Dags’ D’Agastino Jeremy Renner and Reggie Rob Moore Barry decide to sabotage the act by exposing that the band lip-syncs. The moment turns sour when a typing-class teacher suffers a heart attack and dies, and the seniors slip away from class to throw a party at Principal Moss’s house. Moss, played by Matt Frewer, learns about the gathering from student body president Steve Nisser Sergio Di Zio and administers detention, forcing the students to write a letter to the President outlining what’s wrong with the education system.
The next day, news vans flood the campus with reports that the President enjoyed their letter and has invited them to Washington, D.C. to discuss it. In truth, the invitation is a scheme crafted by corrupt Senator Lerman Lawrence Dane to humiliate the President George R. Robertson. The trip kicks off, but the bus makes a stop at a convenience store where Dags and Reggie trap Moss in a flooded washroom and swipe alcohol. They are tailed by Travis Kevin McDonald, a deranged Star Trek devotee and crossing guard who even hops a ride with an Asian family. Moss falls into a deep sleep after taking pills handed to him by the bus driver Red Tommy Chong. With Moss unconscious, Carla Morgan Tara Strong applies makeup to him while the students throw a party aboard the vehicle.
The following day, the chase intensifies as Travis closes in and the bus is pursued by police; Red dies from an apparent overdose, and the bus nearly veers into a lake. Dags manages to brake just in time, but the pursuers’ car ends up in the water, and Travis escapes. Upon reaching Washington, the group checks into a hotel and plans a class photo at a cemetery. Miosky Eric Edwards lights a humorous flame on J. Edgar Hoover’s emblem to distract Travis. That night, the seniors secretly lace a box of chocolates with tequila and offer them to the chaperone Miss Milford Valerie Mahaffey. Under the influence, Milford seduces Moss, and the students take the opportunity to crash a party in the adjacent hotel.
Tensions rise as Steve Nisser threatens to blow the whistle, and Dags tells Miosky to “take care of him.” Meanwhile, Lisa Perkins Fiona Loewi escorts Dags to the rooftop, where she seduces him. The next day, she learns of the broader plot to use the students to embarrass the President and undermine the visit.
Back in the political fray, Senator Lerman confronts Moss and Milford and the students regroup, only to discover that Miosky has been kidnapped and separated from the group. The senator whisks Miosky to the White House, with the others closing in. At the White House, Moss unexpectedly defends the students against Lerman’s jabs, and the senator’s scheme is exposed. The teens return home, and the film closes with a montage showing where each character ends up in later life.
