The answers to questions below are based on information posted from the California Department of Education’s Proposition 28 Arts and Music in Schools Act webpage as well as Chapter 5.1 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code (Section 8820 et seq.). Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and school sites should continue to reference the California Department of Education (CDE) for updated information and guidance. Please note that this page is not implementation guidance and should not be construed as legal guidance.

Overview of Proposition 28: The Arts and Music in Schools Funding Guarantee

• What is Proposition 28: The Arts and Music Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act (AMS)?

Proposition 28 adds The Arts and Music in Schools and Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act to the California Education Code to provide a minimum source for annual funding ($800 million–$1 billion a year) to “supplement arts education programs” for students attending PreK–12 public and charter schools.

• Is the funding available to charter schools?

Charter schools in California are public schools and will be funded similar to other traditional public schools. Funding will be allocated to the LEA, which will allocate funds to eligible school sites.

• Is the funding available for preschool programs?

PreK programs must be state funded to receive Prop 28 AMS funding. All funds will be apportioned to the LEA, which will allocate funds to eligible school sites.

• Do school sites or districts decide how funding will be used?

Funding is calculated at the school-site level but will be allocated to LEAs, which are often the school districts. Decisions around what the funding should be used for should be made by school districts and school sites in partnerships with their community.

• Will all schools receive the same amount of funding?

The funding is allocated with an equity formula. Seventy percent of funds will go to PreK-12 public schools based on student enrollment. Thirty percent of funds will go to public schools based on the share of economically disadvantaged students[1] enrolled.

• How much money will my school receive from Prop 28 AMS funding?

Approximately $938 million has been appropriated in the Budget Act for 2023 for the 2023–24 fiscal year. Estimates show that LEAs will receive approximately $112 per student plus $85 per economically disadvantaged student. You can find current estimates of school site funding amounts here. Note that these estimates are not from CDE, but instead have been developed by an outside organization.

• Will the amount of funding my school receives change every year?

The amount of funding available each fiscal year will be determined by the Department of Finance as part of the Governor’s Budget. Funds will be accessible to schools for up to 3 years after they are allocated, at which time any unspent funds will revert back to the Department.

• What can funding be used for?

All funds must be used to provide arts education programs. For LEAs that serve over 500 students, at least 80 percent of funds must be spent to employ certified or classified employees to provide arts education instruction. The remaining funds can be used for supplies and materials or partnerships with arts programs. No more than 1 percent of funds may be used for administrative expenses, including indirect costs. A waiver from this requirement may be requested from the California Department of Education (CDE). See questions regarding waivers below.

• What is the funding not allowed to be used for?

Schools must use funds appropriated to increase funding of arts education programs, rather than to replace existing funding.

• What counts as “arts education programs”?

In CDE’s Prop 28 AMS FAQ, they have defined “arts education program” as including instruction and training, supplies, materials, and arts education partnerships programs for instruction in: dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts including folk art, painting, sculpture, photography, crafts arts, creative expression including graphic arts and design, computer coding, animation, music composition, ensembles, script writing, costume design, film, and video.[2]

• How do I report out on what our school or LEA plans to use funds for?
  Each school site must develop an expenditure plan for how Prop 28 AMS funds will be used. If an LEA or school site does not already have an expenditure plan, Create CA has developed a School Site Expenditure Plan Template to support this process. This template can be found here. LEAs must submit an annual board-approved report detailing how they spent funds and certify that they used them per the requirements.

Funding Requirements

• Do schools or LEAs need to apply for funding?

No. Funding will be automatically allocated to LEAs by the CDE based on statewide total enrollment and the share of economically disadvantaged students.

• Could you please explain “baseline” in more detail? What funds are considered the baseline for what my school site spent on arts education programing last year?
  • How do I calculate baseline?

LEAs and school sites are required to use Prop 28 AMS funding to increase current arts education spending and not replace existing expenditures. Schools and districts should calculate how much was spent on arts education funding in the year prior to receipt of Proposition 28 AMS funds to determine their baseline funding. If an LEA or school site does not already have documentation in place to determine the total amount of funding spent on arts programming the prior year, Create CA has developed an Inventory of Arts Education Programming and Expenditures Template. This template can be found here for schools and LEAs to use if they need additional support in identifying and documenting arts-related expenditures from the year prior to receipt of Proposition 28 AMS funds.

• Could you please explain “supplement vs supplant” in more detail?

See CDE’s Prop 28 FAQ questions for detail. The “supplement not supplant” requirement is found in Education Code Chapter 5.1, Section 8820, subsection (g) subdivision (2) and states that each LEA must annually “certify that such funds received will be used to supplement funding for arts education programs and that funds received in the prior fiscal year were, in fact, used to supplement arts education programs.” In general, this means that schools must use Prop 28 AMS funds for new or expanded arts programming, rather than using these funds instead of other funds to continue arts programing.

Community Involvement

• What are some considerations I should keep in mind with regards to planning out the funding?

School sites can determine what art programs they will offer, but these determinations should be made in collaboration with teachers, families, and students. School sites should engage their community to understand what types of arts programming are desired. To support this, school sites can use the Create CA Community Input Template found here.

• Are there resources available that my school or LEA can use at a community meeting?

Create CA has developed information sheets in English and Spanish as well as a slide deck in English and Spanish that can be used during community meetings. These resources can be found .

• Can I collect input from my community on Prop 28 AMS during already established meeting times, such as our LCAP Community Input meeting?

Yes! Schools and districts are encouraged to utilize already established times when they are bringing the community together to gather input on how Prop 28 AMS funds can be used. Schools and districts could also add questions to already developed surveys that are sent to families and communities.

Waiver Request

• Which statutes can I request a waiver from?

Upon written request, the CDE for “good cause” shown may provide a waiver from the funding requirement related to 80 percent of funds restricted for certified or classified employees.

• Could you explain “good cause” or “good faith efforts” related to requesting a waiver in more detail?

The CDE has not provided additional information regarding details of a waiver request and what will qualify. Schools and districts are encouraged to keep documentation of any staffing positions they have attempted to hire for, including when openings were posted, how long they were posted for, the number of qualified applicants who applied, the number of interviews conducted, the number of offers made, number of positions hired, number of staff who left, and reasons for departures or unfilled positions.

• What is the process for making a waiver request?

The CDE has not clarified what the formal process for waiver submissions and reviews will be.

Audit Guide

• Will there be an annual audit from the California Department of Education?

Yes. Pursuant to EC Section 41020, Prop 28 AMS funds will be subject to an annual audit to ensure that LEAs expended funds in accordance with the law. More information on audits will likely come from the CDE.

• How often will I be audited?

Prop 28 AMS Funds are subject to an annual audit based on the requirements in EC Section 8220. Audits begin with the 2023–24 school year audit cycle.

Staffing/Teachers

• What are requirements around staffing credentialing/qualifications when hiring under the funding?

For LEAs with more than 500 students at least 80 percent of Prop 28 AMS funds must be used to employ certificated or classified employees to provide arts education instruction. Statute requires that students be under the immediate supervision and control of a certificated employee of the LEA to generate attendance for apportionment and receive instructional time credit. Meaning, if schools or LEAs are using non-certified employees such as teaching artists, a certificated teacher must also be present in the classroom.

• Can we hire teaching artists?

Yes! It is estimated that Prop 28 AMS funds will create over 8,000 new art teaching positions. Create CA encourages schools to consider hiring artists in the community and supporting their certification or credential process, such as through a Career Technical Education (CTE) pathway.

• Can we use the CTE pathway to hire arts teachers for middle and high schools?

Yes! The CTE teaching credential is a pathway for teaching certification for adults who have industry experience. Qualified individuals can apply for a preliminary teaching license while receiving their CTE credential. More information can be found on the Commission on Teacher Credentialing website. In addition, see how Val Verde Unified School District has been using the CTE pathway for several of their art teachers in their Create CA District Profile, found here.

• What should my school site do if we are unable to hire for open staffing positions?

Create CA encourages schools and LEAs to keep documentation of any efforts made to hire arts teachers and to use this documentation when requesting a waiver from the CDE if you have more than 500 students and are unable meet the 80 percent funding for certificated or classified teacher requirement.

Schools and LEAs may also pool funding and consider sharing staff across multiple school sites or LEAs. An example of this is showcased in the District Profile on Palermo Elementary Unified, which can be found here.

• Can schools share teachers or teacher aides across multiple school sites and pool Prop 28 AMS funding?

Yes, school sites can pool funding to fund a full-time employee and share this employee across multiple school sites. For small schools, this approach is encouraged.

Cultural Responsiveness

• What are some ways to think about using the funding in a culturally responsive way?

Schools and LEAs are highly encouraged to take time to collect input from their community on what art programs are desired by students and families. For ideas on how to incorporate more culturally relevant arts programming, see our highlighted District Profiles here.

Resources and Support

• What additional resources and support are available for schools and LEAs related to Prop 28 AMS?

See a full list of resources developed by Create CA here.

See guidance and information released by the California Department of Education here.

See additional promising practices for LEAs to support arts education in their district here

• What additional resources and support are available for families, communities, and advocates?

See a full list of resources for advocates developed by Create CA here.

[1] As defined in Education Code Section 8821: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=8821.&nodeTreePath=1.1.6.8&lawCode=EDC

[2] CDE FAQ: https://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/prop28artsandmusicedfundingfaq.asp