AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 13, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 8, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

94

Introduced by Assembly Member Muratsuchi

February 20, 2026

An act to amend Sections 8820, 8821, and 8822 of the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the Arts and Music in Schools—Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 28 at the November 8, 2022, statewide general election, provides a minimum source of annual funding to K–12 public schools, including public charter schools, to supplement arts education programs for pupils attending those schools, as specified. Existing law defines “arts education program” for these purposes to include, but not be limited to, instruction and training, supplies, materials, and arts educational partnership programs, for instruction in specified topics. Existing law requires the continuous appropriation for these purposes, without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund to the State Department of Education, of an amount equal to 1% of the total state and local revenues received by local educational agencies in the preceding fiscal year that are included in the calculation of the minimum funding guarantee established by the California Constitution, as provided.

Existing law requires funds appropriated pursuant to Proposition 28 to be allocated by the department to each local educational agency, and requires local educational agencies to allocate those funds to each schoolsite, pursuant to specified calculations. Existing law requires the principal or program director of each schoolsite or preschool to develop an expenditure plan for allocated funds.

This bill would change the definition of “arts education program” to additionally include curriculum, instructional materials, and professional development, and would require all arts education programs to be consistent with the California Arts Standards for Public Schools, the California Arts Education Framework, or the California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations, as applicable. The bill would authorize local educational agencies to pool allocated funds and require, as a condition of this pooling, local educational agencies to ensure, among other things, (1) that expenditures for each schoolsite are in proportion to the allocation for each schoolsite and (2) compliance with the expenditure plan adopted by the principal or program director.

Existing law requires, as a condition of receiving Proposition 28 funds, a local educational agency to, among other things, annually certify that the funds will be used to supplement arts education programs and not supplant existing funding for those programs, and that funds expended in the prior fiscal year were used to supplement arts education programs.

This bill would require this certification to include specified calculations that compare existing funds available for arts education programs, as provided, with current year expenditures for arts education programs. The bill would require, in determining the existing funds available for arts education programs, a local educational agency to (1) subtract from the prior year total expenditures for arts programs expenditures from Proposition 28 funds and from resources that are no longer available in the current year, as provided, and (2) subsequently add newly available resources for that are spent on arts education programs, excluding current year Proposition 28 funds. The bill would deem a local educational agency for which current year expenditures for arts education programs equal or exceed the calculations of existing funds available for arts education programs to be in compliance with the requirement to supplement arts education programs.

Existing law also requires, as a condition of receiving Proposition 28 funds, a local educational agency to submit an annual governing board or body-approved report in a manner determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction detailing program expenditures and to certify (1) that all funds will be used to provide arts education programs, and that funds expended in the prior fiscal year were, in fact, used for those purposes and (2), for local educational agencies with an enrollment of 500 or more pupils, that at least 80% of Proposition 28 funds will be used to employ certificated or classified employees to provide arts education program instruction, as provided, and authorizes the department, for good cause shown, to provide a waiver to these requirements.

This bill would instead require the annual governing board or body-approved report to be submitted and posted on or before September 30 in a manner determined by the department. The bill would require each schoolsite or preschool to post on its internet website the above-described expenditure plan and information on granted waivers and would authorize a local educational agency to instead require this information to be posted on the local educational agency’s internet website. The bill would, commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year, require a local educational agency to certify that all aspects of Proposition 28 have been implemented properly at each of its schoolsites. To the extent this imposes these provisions impose new duties on schoolsites or local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to post approved waivers on its internet website.

Proposition 28 authorizes the Legislature to amend its provisions by a ⅔ vote of each house if the amendment furthers its purposes.

This bill would declare that the above-described provisions further the purposes of Proposition 28.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 8820 of the Education Code is amended to read:

8820.

(a) The Arts and Music in Schools—Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act is hereby established for the purpose of providing a minimum source of annual funding for K–12 public schools, including public charter schools, to supplement arts education programs for pupils attending those schools.

(b) (1) Commencing with the 2023–24 fiscal year, and for each fiscal year thereafter, there shall be continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal years from the General Fund to the department for purposes of this chapter, an amount that is equal to 1 percent of the total state and local revenues received by local educational agencies in the preceding fiscal year that are included in the calculation of the minimum funding guarantee established by Sections 8 and 8.5 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, excluding the appropriation made pursuant to this chapter.

(2) The Director of Finance shall calculate and publish the amount required to be appropriated by this chapter as part of the annual May Revision of the Governor’s Budget. The amount required to be appropriated by this chapter for each subsequent fiscal year shall be considered final as of the annual May Revision of the Governor’s Budget for the subsequent fiscal year. The Director of Finance shall publish the required appropriation amount by January 10 each fiscal year as part of the director’s duties pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 41206.01.

(3) Notwithstanding any other law, for purposes of making the computations required by subdivision (b) of Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution:

(A) For the 2023–24 fiscal year, the appropriations made pursuant to this subdivision shall be deemed supplementary payments in excess of the minimum amount required for the 2023–24 fiscal year pursuant to Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution and shall not be considered towards fulfilling the requirements of Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution for the 2023–24 fiscal year.

(B) For subsequent fiscal years, the appropriations made pursuant to this subdivision shall be considered moneys that were allocated to school districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.

(C) Commencing with the 2024–25 fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, “the percentage of General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts and community college districts, respectively, in fiscal year 1986–87,” for purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, shall be deemed to be the percentage of General Fund revenues that would have been appropriated for those entities if the share of the General Fund of the supplementary payments calculated pursuant to this subdivision in the prior fiscal year had been included in the percentage of General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts and community college districts, respectively, in fiscal year 1986–87.

(c) Funds appropriated pursuant to this chapter shall be allocated by the department to each local educational agency as the sum of the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph (1) and the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph (2) for each schoolsite in that local educational agency, as follows:

(1) An amount equal to the product of 70 percent of the funding appropriated in subdivision (b) multiplied by the school’s enrollment in the prior fiscal year, divided by the total statewide enrollment in the prior fiscal year of local educational agencies.

(2) An amount equal to the product of 30 percent of the funds appropriated in subdivision (b) multiplied by the school’s enrollment of economically disadvantaged pupils in the prior fiscal year, divided by the total statewide enrollment of economically disadvantaged pupils in the prior fiscal year of local educational agencies. For schools serving preschool pupils, the enrollment of economically disadvantaged preschool pupils shall be deemed to equal the enrollment of preschool pupils in the prior fiscal year multiplied by the same percentage of pupils that are economically disadvantaged at the elementary schoolsite with the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged pupils in the prior year within the preschool’s local educational agency. If there is no elementary school within the preschool’s local educational agency, the enrollment of economically disadvantaged preschool pupils shall be deemed to equal the enrollment of preschool pupils in the prior fiscal year multiplied by the same percentage of pupils that are economically disadvantaged at the elementary schoolsite with the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged pupils in the prior year within the preschool’s county.

(d) Local educational agencies shall allocate to each schoolsite an amount equal to the sum of the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) and the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).

(e) Local educational agencies may pool funds allocated pursuant to this chapter. Local educational agencies shall, as a condition of pooling funds, comply with all of the following requirements:

(1) Ensure compliance with all applicable requirements of this chapter.

(2) Ensure that expenditures for each schoolsite are in proportion to the allocation for each schoolsite as determined pursuant to subdivision (d).

(3) Ensure compliance with an expenditure plan adopted pursuant to subdivision (f).

(f) (1) For each schoolsite or preschool, the principal or program director shall develop an expenditure plan for the funds allocated pursuant to subdivision (d).

(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), each schoolsite or preschool shall post on its internet website the expenditure plan developed pursuant to paragraph (1) and, if applicable, information on waivers granted pursuant to subdivision (i).

(B) A local educational agency may require its schoolsites and preschools to post the information required by subparagraph (A) on the local educational agency’s internet website instead of on the schoolsite or preschool’s internet website.

(g) (1) Funds allocated pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be available for use for up to three fiscal years after which time the unexpended funds shall be reverted to the department, which shall reallocate those funds to all local educational agencies in the following fiscal year pursuant to subdivision (c).

(2) Local educational agencies are required to report to the department the amount of unexpended funds by October 1 following the conclusion of the expenditure period pursuant to paragraph (1). If a charter school ceases to operate, a final expenditure report shall be due to the department within 60 days of the effective date of closure and the department shall collect any unexpended amounts.

(3) The department may withhold the release of a local educational agency’s allocation pursuant to this section for the fiscal year in which the expenditure report required by paragraph (2) is due until that local educational agency has submitted the required expenditure report.

(h) As a condition of receipt of funds pursuant to this chapter, a local educational agency shall annually do all of the following:

(1) Certify that all funds will be used to provide arts education programs, and that funds expended in the prior fiscal year were, in fact, used for those purposes, except as provided in paragraph (3). For local educational agencies with an enrollment of 500 or more pupils, the certification shall also ensure that at least 80 percent of funds to be expended will be used to employ certificated or classified employees to provide arts education program instruction and that the remaining funds will be used for training, supplies and materials, and arts educational partnership programs.

(2) Certify that such funds received will be used to supplement funding for arts education programs and that funds expended in the prior fiscal year were, in fact, used to supplement arts education programs. A local educational agency shall make this certification pursuant to the following process:

(A) Identify existing funds available for arts education programs pursuant to the following calculation:

(i) Determine the total expenditures for arts education programs in the prior fiscal year.

(ii) (I) Subtract from the figure determined in clause (i) expenditures from funds allocated pursuant to this chapter and expenditures from resources that are no longer available in the current year.

(II) For purposes of this clause, expenditures from resources that are no longer available in the current year may include, but are not limited to, funds derived from the following sources that have expired, been reduced, been discontinued, been exhausted, were onetime in nature, or otherwise ceased to be available for expenditure in the current year, as documented in the local educational agency’s adopted budget, governing board or body records, or grant award documentation: year:

(ia) Private contributions. contributions, including, but not limited to, parent fundraising, donations, or grants.

(III) For purposes of this clause, expenditures from resources that are no longer available in the current year may also include savings attributable to replacing one employee funded by the local educational agency’s general fund with another employee funded by the local educational agency’s general fund who provides the same services, as documented in the local educational agency’s adopted budget, governing board or body records, or grant award documentation. services.

(iii) Add to the difference calculated pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii) newly available resources for that are spent on arts education programs, excluding funds allocated pursuant to this chapter in the current year.

(B) Identify current year expenditures for arts education programs and subtract expenditures from funds allocated pursuant to this chapter.

(C) If the amount expended pursuant to subparagraph (B) equals or exceeds the amount determined pursuant to subparagraph (A), the local educational agency is in compliance with the requirement of this paragraph.

(3) Certify that no more than 1 percent of funds received will be used for a local educational agency’s administrative expenses to implement this chapter and that funds received in the prior fiscal year were, in fact, used within that limit.

(4) Submit an annual board- or body-approved report report, on or before September 30, in a manner determined by the Superintendent, department, that shall be posted on the local educational agency’s and the department’s internet websites and that details the type of arts education programs funded by the program, the number of full-time equivalent teachers, classified personnel, and teaching aides, the number of pupils served, and the number of schoolsites providing arts education programs with those funds.

(i) The department may, for good cause shown, provide a waiver from the requirement pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) upon written request from the local educational agency. The department shall post approved waivers on its internet website.

(j) Annual audits conducted in accordance with Section 41020 shall include all funds received and distributed by the local educational agency pursuant to this section, and shall include a determination of whether the funds were expended pursuant to the certifications submitted pursuant to subdivision (h) and the requirements of this section.

(l) The Legislature may reduce the annual appropriation required by this chapter if the Legislature suspends the operation of Proposition 98 by the enactment of an urgency statute pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution. The percent of the reduction in the annual appropriation required by this chapter shall not exceed the percent of reduction in funding provided to K–12 schools and community colleges for the fiscal year below the funding level of minimum guarantee that would have been provided pursuant to Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution if the suspension of the operation of Proposition 98 had not occurred.

(m) This section does not prohibit the Legislature from appropriating funds for the program in excess of this minimum annual appropriation.

SEC. 2.

Section 8821 of the Education Code is amended to read:

8821.

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Arts education program” includes, but is not limited to, instruction and training, supplies, materials, curriculum, instructional materials, professional development, and arts educational partnership programs, consistent with the California Arts Standards for Public Schools, the California Arts Education Framework, or the California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations, as applicable, for instruction in: dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts, including folk art, painting, sculpture, photography, and craft arts, creative expressions, including graphic arts and design, computer coding, animation, music composition and ensembles, and script writing, costume design, film, and video.

(b) “Economically disadvantaged pupil” means a pupil who is eligible for the federal National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1751 et seq.) or any successor program.

(c) “Enrollment” means every preschool, transitional kindergarten, and K–12 pupil enrolled in a local educational agency and schoolsite. A “preschool pupil” means a pupil enrolled in the California state preschool program or a pupil three to five years of age, inclusive, enrolled in a preschool program for pupils with exceptional needs in a local educational agency.

(d) “Existing funding” means revenue available in the current year.

(e) “Local educational agency” includes K–12 school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, the California School for the Blind, and the California School for the Deaf.

(f) “Supplement” means that the funds appropriated by this chapter shall be used by local educational agencies to increase funding of arts education programs and not to supplant existing funding for those programs.

SEC. 3.

Section 8822 of the Education Code is amended to read:

8822.

(a) If any provision of this act or application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.

(b) This act is intended to be comprehensive. It is the intent of the people that in the event this act or acts relating to the same subject shall appear on the same statewide election ballot, the provisions of the other act or acts shall be deemed to be in conflict with this act. In the event that this act receives a greater number of affirmative votes, the provisions of this act shall prevail in their entirety, and all provisions of the other act or acts shall be null and void.

(c) Except as provided in subdivision (k) (l) of Section 8820, the Legislature may amend this chapter to further its purposes by a bill passed in each house by rollcall vote entered into the journal, two-thirds of the membership of each house concurring.

SEC. 4.

The Legislature finds and declares that this act furthers the purposes of the Arts and Music in Schools—Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act (Chapter 5.1 (commencing with Section 8820) of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code).

SEC. 5.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.