Why It Matters
California school districts faced uncertainty regarding how to spend arts education funds, leading some to return money to the state rather than risk legal challenges.
What Happened
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2440 over the weekend to establish clearer guidelines for spending Proposition 28 funds. Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi authored the legislation to address confusion among school officials about permissible expenditures.
The uncertainty stemmed from a lawsuit filed last year by Austin Beutner, former Los Angeles Unified superintendent and author of Proposition 28. Beutner sued his former district, alleging it cut existing arts programs and used proposition money to backfill those cuts—a practice prohibited under the law. The case remains pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
By the Numbers
$1 billion — Annual amount provided by Proposition 28 to California public K-12 schools for arts
2022 — Year Proposition 28 was passed
Zoom Out
Proposition 28, passed in 2022, provides approximately $1 billion annually to California public K-12 schools for visual art, music, dance, theater, and other arts disciplines. The new law aims to prevent districts from using these supplemental funds to replace previously existing budgets.
What’s Next
School districts will now operate under the clarified guidelines established by Assembly Bill 2440 as they manage their arts education budgets for the upcoming academic year.