Encinitas-area schools now have clearer rules for spending state arts education money after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law resolving confusion that led some California districts to return funds rather than risk lawsuits.
Assembly Bill 2440, which Newsom signed Sunday, Sept. 27, addresses problems schools faced implementing Proposition 28, the 2022 voter-approved measure that sends about $1 billion a year to California's public K-12 schools for visual art, music, dance, theater and other arts programs. The bill passed the Legislature unanimously.
Both the Encinitas Union School District and the San Dieguito Union High School District receive Prop. 28 dollars. EUSD's Board of Trustees approved its 2025-2026 Prop. 28 Arts and Music in School Annual Report at its Aug. 18 meeting.
Statewide, some schools returned their Prop. 28 allotments because they were unsure how to spend the money without violating the requirement that it supplement, not replace, existing arts budgets. CalMatters reported in August that state data compiled by Create CA showed dozens of California schools spent no Prop. 28 money at all. Schools that do not spend their allotment must return it to the state after three years.
AB 2440, authored by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat from Torrance, settles several sticking points, as CalMatters reported:
- Pooling resources: Smaller schools can combine Prop. 28 funds to share an arts teacher, as long as each site's spending stays proportional.
- Grants count: One-time arts grants from outside sources, such as band booster donations, count toward a school's baseline arts spending.
- Arts framework alignment: Instruction must follow the state's arts education framework. A physical education class that includes dance does not qualify as arts in most cases.
- Broader spending: Districts can now use Prop. 28 money for curriculum, materials and professional development.
All provisions take full effect in the 2027-28 fiscal year.
The legislation came after Austin Beutner, the former Los Angeles Unified superintendent who authored Prop. 28, sued LAUSD in 2025, alleging the district misused $76.7 million in Prop. 28 funds by cutting existing arts programs and backfilling with proposition money. That case remains pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Beutner initially opposed AB 2440, saying it would give schools too much latitude. He reversed course after lawmakers made minor changes.
"The sad thing is, this means that thousands of kids aren't getting art," Beutner said in an Aug. 13 CalMatters report about districts returning unspent funds. "We thought Prop. 28 was clear."
The teacher pipeline remains a challenge. A Stanford Research Institute study found California needs at least 5,000 new arts teachers to meet Prop. 28 demand. EUSD itself accepted the resignations of music teachers Sophia Gerdes and Nicholas Burchfield and art teacher Kenneth Hallinan at its June 9 board meeting, though the district has not publicly linked those departures to Prop. 28 funding.
The new rules give both districts until the 2027-28 school year to bring all schools into compliance.
