The short answer: Prop 28 sends about 1% of the prior-year K–12 Prop 98 guarantee, roughly $1 billion a year, to California schools for arts and music. Each school gets its own allocation and three years to spend it. Districts with 500 or more students must spend at least 80% on arts staff. AB 2440, signed September 27, 2026, adds pooling, a supplant formula, online posting and, from 2027–28, a certification for every school site.
Start here
- AB 2440 explained: every change in the new law and a timeline for this school year.
- AB 2440 site certification checklist: a per-school list of what to prove, ready to print.
The core rules
- The 80/20 staffing rule: what counts as staff, what falls in the 20%, the 1% admin cap and waivers.
- Supplement, not supplant: the new AB 2440 test, step by step, with a worked example.
- Unspent funds: how the three-year window works and what happens to money left over.
Prop 28 in numbers
| Fiscal year | Statewide appropriation | Per enrolled student | Per low-income (FRPM) student |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | $1.045 billion | $124.26 | $84.13 |
| 2024–25 | $907 million | $107.09 | $73.83 |
| 2023–24 | $938 million | $110.51 | $78.42 |
Source: California Department of Education. Allocations are estimated each July, recalculated in February and final at the June Second Principal Apportionment.
Coming soon
Allowable expenses with 40 yes-and-no examples, getting a plan through your School Site Council, the annual report, aligning courses to the Arts Framework, and an audit-readiness checklist for business offices.
Plan every school's allocation, free
Your schools and CDE allocations are already loaded in clearAMS. Free for every California district, county office and state special school.