Dr. Veronica Alvarez Speaking at the Hearing
After several months of collaboration and outreach, along with a coalition letter signed by partners across the state, on February 12th, the Assembly Committees on Education and Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism convened a joint informational hearing to review the implementation of Proposition 28, the Arts and Music in Schools Act. The hearing brought together state leaders, researchers, district superintendents, arts educators, and advocates to assess progress and identify areas for improvement as the state enters the third year of Prop 28 funding.
Dr. Veronica Alvarez, Executive Director of Create CA, served on the second panel alongside key partners, including Dr. Sharon Herpin of WestEd and Kyle Holmes of the California County Superintendents Statewide Arts Initiative. Together, the panel provided a statewide perspective on the evolving arts education landscape and the opportunities and challenges emerging from Prop 28 implementation.
Celebrating Progress
Speakers across panels emphasized that Prop 28 is already making a meaningful difference for students. Districts throughout California are expanding access to visual and performing arts, hiring credentialed arts educators, increasing instructional time, and launching new programs in dance, theater, music, media arts, and visual arts.
There was broad agreement that the Act has created unprecedented momentum for arts education, but progress has been uneven.
Ongoing Implementation Challenges
At the same time, panelists identified key areas requiring further attention:
- Clarity on “supplement, not supplant”: Ambiguity in the statute has led to confusion at the district and school-site levels, sometimes delaying spending or limiting partnerships.
- Workforce shortages: California faces a significant shortage of credentialed arts educators, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
- Technical assistance capacity: With only limited state-level staffing dedicated to supporting Prop 28 implementation, districts are often navigating complex compliance questions with limited support.
- Data gaps: Comprehensive arts course and participation data remain limited—only secondary data is reported (and not publicly released since 2018), while elementary schools do not report course-level arts data, making it difficult to measure statewide impact. (Read the #Data4thePeople Coalition Letter detailing our data asks)
Dr. Alvarez underscored that while the $1 billion annual investment is transformative, realizing the full promise of Prop 28 requires stronger guidance, transparent data systems, and sustained support for educator pipeline development.
Dr. Herpin, Mr. Holmes, Dr. Alvarez (pictured above)
A Shared Commitment to Equity
Throughout the hearing, a consistent theme emerged: Prop 28 was designed not only to expand arts programming, but to advance equity. Ensuring that every student, regardless of zip code, has access to high-quality, standards-aligned arts education remains the North Star.
There was acknowledgment that while meaningful progress has been made, statutory refinement and continued attention to strengthening the arts educator workforce pipeline would further support effective implementation.
Create CA will continue to support Prop 28 through statewide advocacy trainings, practical resources for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and advocates, pursuit of thoughtful legislative updates when appropriate, and ongoing advocacy for state investments in the Visual and Performing Arts teacher pipeline and technical assistance for school districts.
Watch the hearing here. The hearing begins at the 30-minute mark.
Create CA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.