SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 16 (Our California Times) — California schools are returning some Proposition 28 arts-education money after failing to spend it within the program’s three-year deadline. The state has not yet announced how much money is being returned or which schools are affected.
The issue has created a difficult choice for school districts: add arts classes and teachers under strict rules, or risk losing money that was intended for students.
“We need clarity and confidence that we’re doing this the right way,” said Ed Manansala, El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools. “We have a long history of supporting the arts and we really want to make sure we do this right.”
What did voters approve?
California voters approved Proposition 28 in 2022. The law sets aside about $1 billion each year for arts education in public schools serving kindergarten through 12th grade.
A school’s allocation is based mainly on enrollment. Schools serving larger numbers of low-income students receive additional funding.
The money is meant to expand arts education, not replace programs that schools already have. Eligible subjects can include music, dance, theater, visual arts and other arts courses.
What are schools required to do?
At least 80% of each school’s allocation must be spent on additional arts teachers or other arts educators. The remaining money can be used for supplies, materials and other arts-related expenses.
The law also requires districts to keep the funding separate from their regular budgets and to report how it is spent. Unused money must be returned to the state after three years.
That deadline is now affecting the first group of Proposition 28 allocations. Some schools and districts have not spent all of their money, so they must return the balance rather than carry it forward indefinitely.
The California Department of Education has not released a statewide total for the returned funds. The department plans to redistribute unspent money to schools that are using their allocations in compliance with the law, based on annual spending reports.
Why has spending been difficult?
One problem is staffing. Districts have reported difficulty finding qualified arts teachers, especially when the funding must be used largely for new educator positions. A district may have money available but no teacher to hire.
District officials have also raised questions about what the law allows. The requirement that Proposition 28 funds supplement existing programs means districts cannot simply use the money to pay for arts positions or classes that were already in their budgets.
That rule has led to disputes over whether some districts are using the money for existing employees, programs or supplies. Arts organizations and labor leaders have called for stronger documentation showing that districts are complying with the law.
Create CA, a nonprofit that supported Proposition 28, compiled data indicating that dozens—and possibly hundreds—of schools spent none of their allocations. The underlying data and a statewide total were not identified in the available information.
The effect on students can vary by school. At Union Mine High School in El Dorado County, a dance teacher told EdSource that dance classes were facing elimination even as Proposition 28 funding was available. That example illustrates the central problem: funding alone does not guarantee that a school can quickly create a course, hire a teacher or meet the program’s legal requirements.
Could the rules change?
Assembly Bill 2440 was reported as having passed the California Assembly unanimously in May 2026. The bill would allow districts to pool money assigned to individual schools and would create a process for districts that cannot meet the 80% educator-spending requirement to seek a waiver from the California Department of Education.
The available information does not establish whether the bill became law, its final language or an effective date. Austin Beutner, a former superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District, criticized the proposal, arguing that it could weaken Proposition 28’s requirement that the money expand arts education rather than replace existing funding.
For now, schools remain responsible for following the existing law. Districts must decide how to use the money for additional arts education, document their spending and return funds that remain unspent after the three-year period. The redistribution process could send some of that money to schools that have been able to add arts teachers, classes or materials.
