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Three years after voters passed an ambitious arts education funding measure, California鈥檚 K-12 schools were supposed to be awash in dance, music, theater and fine arts. But some schools are returning their arts money to the state, saying the rules on how to spend it are too vague and they can鈥檛 find enough arts teachers.

鈥淭he sad thing is, this means that thousands of kids aren鈥檛 getting art,鈥� said Austin Beutner, the former superintendent of Los Angeles Unified who wrote . 鈥淲e thought Prop. 28 was clear.鈥�

Prop. 28, which voters overwhelmingly approved in 2022, sets aside about $1 billion a year for the arts in California public schools. Schools with more low-income students get more money, but otherwise funding is based on enrollment. Los Angeles Unified, with about 400,000 students, got about $72 million last year, while Death Valley Unified, with 21 students, got about $2,000.

Schools must spend at least 80% of their money on additional arts staff, with the rest going to art supplies and other arts expenses. Whatever they don鈥檛 spend, they鈥檙e required to return to the state after three years. The first three-year period just ended, and the California Department of Education hasn鈥檛 yet announced how much money schools returned. The state redistributes the unspent money to individual schools that are using their Prop. 28 money correctly, based on their annual spending reports.

State data , an arts nonprofit that supported Prop. 28, shows dozens, if not hundreds of schools that spent no money. Among them are charter schools, small schools, and mid-sized schools in every corner of the state.

At the other end of the spectrum, many districts have gone on spending sprees, hiring teachers and expanding programs at all schools. Bakersfield City Schools, for example, doubled the size of its folklorico and mariachi dance programs, bought thousands of musical instruments and paired local artists with classroom teachers.

Long Beach Unified has also doubled down on the arts. Its high school course catalog offers dozens of arts classes, including classics like marching band and painting as well as more obscure classes like improvisational dance, steel drums, stage technology, chamber orchestra and photography.

Too few teachers, too much confusion

But other districts, particularly smaller and rural districts, . Even though the state allows districts to pool their Prop. 28 money to share a teacher, the law doesn’t provide explicit language about it. Regardless, schools say there are not enough art teachers to hire. According to a , California needs at least 5,000 new arts teachers to meet the demand. Rural areas in general hiring teachers, particularly those with specialized training.

Another obstacle is what some school officials describe as vague directions in the law. Prop. 28 broadly defines what constitutes an arts class, but it doesn鈥檛 require those classes to align with the state鈥檚 existing . And schools already get arts funding from the state, leaving some school officials wondering if they can mix their funds and still comply with the law.

鈥淲e need clarity and confidence that we鈥檙e doing this the right way,鈥� said El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools Ed Manansala, saying schools are afraid of misusing the funds 鈥� for example, sharing a music teacher with another district but not dividing their time lawfully. 鈥淲e have a long history of supporting the arts and we really want to make sure we do this right.鈥�

Manansala and other school officials also say they鈥檙e afraid of getting sued if they don鈥檛 use the money correctly. That鈥檚 what happened to Los Angeles Unified. Beutner sued his former district last year, claiming it cut existing arts funding and backfilled it with Prop. 28 money, which is prohibited.

The lawsuit is pending in Los Angeles Superior Court. The district said that its use of Prop. 28 money was legal.

鈥榃e should not be fighting over this鈥�

Nonetheless, the confusion led Assemblymember to that would clarify some of the Prop. 28 language 鈥� for example, defining what constitutes supplemental arts funding. The legislation so far has had nearly unanimous bipartisan support, but one very vocal opponent: Beutner.

Beutner said that Muratsuchi鈥檚 bill, , essentially guts Prop. 28 by giving schools too much leeway to spend their money. Among his concerns is that districts will not increase arts education at all school sites, but instead cluster it at certain schools or try to pawn off a physical education class, for example, as an arts class.

鈥淚 believe in the arts, and what it can do for students. Some kids only come to school because of the arts,鈥� Beutner said. 鈥淲e should not be fighting over this. Prop. 28 is very clear鈥� in that it requires schools to add extra arts programs, not replace existing programs.

Beutner also described the bill as a 鈥済et-out-of-jail-free card鈥� for Los Angeles Unified, because he said it would give the district more freedom in how it spends its Prop. 28 money. District spokesperson Christy Hagen said in an email that the district had nothing to do with the bill and hasn鈥檛 taken a position on it.

Beutner said he鈥檇 like to see Muratsuchi鈥檚 legislation tabled until a judge rules on his lawsuit against Los Angeles Unified. Otherwise, spending the funding could become even more confusing.

The bill is currently in the suspense file in the Senate appropriations committee, awaiting approval Thursday. If the committee doesn鈥檛 agree to hear it, it鈥檒l likely die. 

Muratsuchi said he鈥檚 open to a last-minute compromise.  

鈥�(Beutner) and I share the same goal of Prop. 28 providing arts and music to every child in California regardless of zip code,鈥� said Muratsuchi, a Democrat from Torrance. 鈥淲e want to make sure the law鈥檚 language reflects that. Hopefully I convinced him that I mean well and we have the same objective.鈥�

Urgent need for clarity

Clarifying the languageis crucial if the law is going to be successful, said Veronica Alvarez, executive director of Create CA, a nonprofit that promotes arts education in California schools.

Too many school districts are not spending their Prop. 28 money because they鈥檙e confused about the guidelines or can鈥檛 comply with what they view as overly narrow requirements, Alvarez said.

鈥淲e want clearer statewide rules, so all kids from Shasta to Bakersfield get high-quality arts education,鈥� Alvarez said. 鈥淗opefully we can move forward on this.鈥�

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