New law will make arts funding accessible amid ongoing lawsuit against LAUSD

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Sunday a bill that would make more funding for arts teachers accessible to schools, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

Assembly Bill 2440 was designed to urge school districts to use Proposition 28 funds, which sets aside about $1 billion per year for arts education. Early data reviews show that millions of dollars in funding have not yet been spent, according to the Times. 

“The clear message we heard was that many school districts have been struggling to navigate legal ambiguity regarding compliance with Proposition 28,” said bill author Al Muratsuchi, D-Rolling Hills Estates, in a statement to the Times. 

Districts have been concerned about accidentally violating the guidelines regarding spending. The final version of the bill — which was supported by former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner, who authored Prop. 28 — says small schools and districts can combine their monies to share an arts instructor, but that every school should receive more arts instruction, the Times reported. The law also gives schools certain legal protections against potential financial repercussions. 

The new law comes over a year after a lawsuit was filed against the Los Angeles Unified School District, alleging it had violated the Prop. 28 requirement that schools use the money to supplement, and not supplant, current sources.

This story was originally published by EdSource.