{"id":405186,"date":"2026-07-20T12:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/405186\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T12:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:34:10","slug":"california-bill-could-push-schools-to-use-unspent-prop-28-arts-education-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/405186\/","title":{"rendered":"California bill could push schools to use unspent Prop 28 arts education funds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\tQuick Take<\/p>\n

California lawmakers hope to address the \u201cchilling effect\u201d of schools leaving Proposition 28 funds unspent three years after the voter-approved mandate for arts education.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published by EdSource.\u00a0Sign up<\/a>\u00a0for its daily newsletter.<\/p>\n

California lawmakers are advancing legislation to revise how school districts implement Proposition 28, the voter-approved initiative that promised roughly $1 billion annually in new arts and music education in schools.<\/p>\n

Assembly Bill 2440<\/a>, authored by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, provides new guidance after many schools\u2019 Prop 28 spending has come to a standstill because of ambiguous state rules. Passed by voters in 2022, Prop 28 dedicates 1% of all K-12 education funds specifically for arts education each year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the investment, many school districts have struggled to turn new arts funding into expanded classroom instruction. Abe Flores, deputy director at the arts education nonprofit Create CA, said many school districts could have to give up unspent funds at the end of 2026 when the three-year spending window comes to an end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we were noticing in some districts was a chilling effect, that \u2018we\u2019re just going to hold back and not spend this money until we get that clarity,\u2019\u201d on how to hire and launch new arts programs within Prop 28\u2019s rules, Flores said. \u201cIt was really going to affect a lot of smaller schools disproportionately, and so with this bill, we\u2019re hoping school leaders can make decisions confidently.\u201d<\/p>\n

AB 2440, which unanimously passed the Assembly in May, would allow school districts to pool funds designated for individual schools into a shared budget. Smaller districts could then hire itinerant arts teachers to serve multiple schools, fund districtwide orchestras, bands and choirs and share arts equipment and instruction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s a school district that\u2019s getting $100,000, and they have four schools, each generating $25,000, it isn\u2019t enough [money] to hire one person at the school site level,\u201d Flores said. The bill helps school districts \u201cbe more flexible with staffing realities,\u201d especially with teacher shortages, by sharing resources, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Flores said the influx of Prop 28 money has also revealed gaps in expertise and personnel across districts, which can largely determine whether schools grow arts instruction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He pointed to Long Beach Unified, the fifth-largest school district in California, which used a district-level arts education coordinator, existing arts infrastructure and a plan to come up with a strategy to spend new Prop 28 funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the districts who were smaller, who didn\u2019t have the cash flow, who didn\u2019t have the capacity, didn\u2019t have a vision or a plan, that were having a hard time spending down this money in fear of doing something wrong,\u201d Flores said. \u201cThey had less to build off of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Soquel High School\u2019s band room. Credit: Kevin Painchaud \/ Lookout Santa Cruz<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Unified, for example, has hired dozens of arts educators across music, theater, visual arts and dance, with the nearly $132 million in additional money the district has received through Prop 28. Palo Alto Unified, with about $1.6 million in new Prop 28 funds, has funded new spectra art classes and a glass-blowing program as well as expanded a music program for students with extensive needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yet for many districts, the lack of workforce capacity, combined with ambiguous spending rules, has stunted arts expansion in schools, Kyle Holmes, director of the California County Superintendents\u2019 Statewide Arts Initiative, said at an\u00a0Assembly hearing<\/a>\u00a0in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve heard from districts all over the state that are going to have to return some of their Prop 28 funding at the end of this year,\u201d Holmes told lawmakers. \u201cNot because they don\u2019t want to support the arts, but because they don\u2019t want to be out of compliance with how they spend it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prop 28 requires that schools use funds to \u201csupplement, not supplant\u201d existing dollars for arts education, and that at least 80% of funds be used to hire educators. Chad Zullinger, past president of the California Music Educators Association, told EdSource that confusion around those rules has led to many districts misusing funds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zullinger said CMEA surveyed arts educators about their schools\u2019 use of Prop 28 funds. One teacher said their school tapped into Prop 28 funds to pay for choir, band, theater and dance stipends that were already included in the district budget \u2014 a possible violation of the \u201csupplement, not supplant,\u201d rule, he said.<\/p>\n

In 2025, former LAUSD superintendent and Prop 28 author Austin Beutner, along with eight students and their parents,\u00a0sued<\/a>\u00a0LAUSD, alleging the district unlawfully diverted $76.7 million in Prop 28 funding to pay for existing salaries. The lawsuit, which remains pending after a judge\u00a0denied<\/a>\u00a0LAUSD\u2019s effort to dismiss the case, has deterred districts from spending on the arts due to fear of litigation,\u00a0advocates said<\/a>\u00a0in the February hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To address concerns, AB 2440 would establish a clearer formula for how schools can spend their Prop 28 funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, the bill allows funds lost from the previous year to be removed from a school\u2019s existing pool of funds for the arts, enabling the use of Prop 28 funds. Many districts had worried that if a PTA stopped funding an arts program, the district could be required to replace those dollars with non-Prop 28 funds before it could spend Prop 28 money, said Flores.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And with the sunsetting of COVID-era\u00a0emergency relief funds<\/a>, \u201cwe wanted to make it really clear that they\u2019re not held accountable to those funds,\u201d Flores said, \u201cto allow them to confidently spend that [Prop 28] money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Districts that are unable to meet the rule that at least 80% of Prop 28 funds go to hiring educators can also seek a waiver from the California Department of Education. AB 2440 directs districts with a waiver to spend those funds on curriculum, instructional materials and professional development aligned with California\u2019s arts standards.<\/p>\n

Since individual Prop 28 funds might decrease with enrollment declines, Zullinger, past president of the California Music Educators Association, said flexibility on spending and pooled funds would enhance smaller districts\u2019 ability to grow the arts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zullinger said AB 2440 could help ensure that state and school leaders deliver on Prop 28\u2019s promise to expand the arts in every school.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to find that administrative mandate that connects to the fiscal mandate of the voters,\u201d Zullinger said. \u201cSo that administrators see that [the arts] is something the public is looking at in addition to reading and math [scores].\u201d<\/p>\n

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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