Dive Brief:

• California's new school funding rules, which offer districts more flexibility, are causing some districts to boost the number of field trips available to students.
• The Vallejo, CA school district will boost field trip spending from $120,000 for students in grades 4-12 this year to $360,000 for K-12 students in 2016-17.
• Students had a say in the decision to increase field trip spending; they also suggested additional spending on better lunches and new textbooks.

Dive Insight:

The spending has more impact than you might first realize. For example, California museums that were hard-hit by the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession are getting some of this money as classrooms of students arrive on field trips. And there is at least some evidence that students who take field trips score higher on tests for critical thinking.