The short answer: Prop 28 pays for arts education programs in dance, media arts, music, theatre and visual arts: instruction and training, supplies, materials, curriculum, instructional materials, professional development and arts educational partnerships. In LEAs with 500 or more pupils, at least 80 percent must go to LEA employees who provide arts instruction. Every cost must add to existing arts spending, not replace it, and no more than 1 percent may go to administration, and CDE does not pre-approve individual expenses.
The legal test, in three questions
Before any expense goes into a site plan, it has to pass three questions in this order:
- Is it an arts education program cost? It must be instruction, training, supplies, materials, curriculum, instructional materials, professional development or an arts educational partnership, in one of the arts disciplines.
- Does it supplement, not supplant? It must increase arts funding, not replace money the LEA already spent on arts. See supplement, not supplant for the AB 2440 test.
- Where does it fall under the 80/20 rule? Employees who provide arts instruction are in the 80 percent. Everything else allowable is in the 20 percent. See the 80/20 rule.
CDE does not approve or deny individual expenditures. The LEA decides, and the annual audit checks the decision.
The arts disciplines that qualify
Statute names dance, media arts, music, theatre and visual arts, and lists examples including folk art, painting, sculpture, photography, craft arts, graphic arts and design, computer coding, animation, music composition, ensembles, script writing, costume design, film and video. CDE's FAQ groups them like this:
| Discipline | Examples CDE gives |
|---|---|
| Dance | Ballet, folk and traditional, hip hop, jazz, modern |
| Media arts | Graphic arts and design, computer coding, animation, film and video, photography |
| Music | Music theory, vocal music, composition and ensembles, music appreciation |
| Theatre | Costume design, script writing, acting, directing, stagecraft |
| Visual arts | Folk art, painting, sculpture, craft arts, drawing |
AB 2440 adds that programs should be consistent with the California Arts Standards, the California Arts Education Framework or, for the youngest pupils, the Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations. Write the alignment into the site plan.
What AB 2440 added
Before AB 2440, statute listed instruction and training, supplies, materials and arts educational partnership programs. AB 2440 adds curriculum, instructional materials and professional development by name. Those were arguably covered before as materials and training; now there is no argument.
It does not move them into the 80 percent. The staffing requirement still lists training, supplies and materials and partnerships as the remainder, so for an LEA with 500 or more pupils these additions sit in the 20 percent.
Staff versus everything else
| Counts in the 80% (employees) | Counts in the 20% (everything else allowable) |
|---|---|
| Certificated LEA employees providing arts instruction | Training and professional development |
| Classified LEA employees providing arts instruction, such as instructional aides | Supplies, materials, curriculum and instructional materials |
| LEA employees teaching arts outside the school day or off campus | Arts educational partnerships, contractors, vendors and community-based organizations, including teaching artists who are not LEA employees |
LEAs with fewer than 500 pupils are exempt from the 80 percent requirement, but every other rule on this page still applies. CDE points to the Education Code (sections 44006, 45103, 45104 and 45256) and the California School Accounting Manual for who counts as a certificated or classified employee.
24 common expenses, sorted
The verdicts below are labelled by where they come from. CDE means CDE's FAQ answers the question directly. Statute means it follows from the plain text of Education Code sections 8820 and 8821. Not addressed means neither CDE nor statute speaks to it; confirm with your county office of education or counsel before you spend.
Every "yes" still assumes the expense supplements existing arts spending.
| Expense | Verdict | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Salary and benefits for a newly hired credentialed music teacher | Yes, 80% | Statute: certificated employee providing arts instruction |
| A classified arts instructional aide | Yes, 80% | Statute: classified employee providing arts instruction |
| An LEA teacher running an after-school or off-campus arts class | Yes, 80% | CDE: instruction outside the school day or off campus is allowable |
| One arts teacher shared between two schools | Yes, 80% | CDE and AB 2440: shared staff and pooling are allowed if each site pays in proportion to its allocation |
| Moving an existing general-fund arts teacher onto Prop 28 | Depends | Statute: fails unless the AB 2440 supplant test is still met |
| Replacing arts spending a one-time grant paid for, now expired | Generally yes | Statute: AB 2440 removes expired one-time resources from the baseline |
| A teaching artist from a community arts organization | Yes, 20% | CDE: community-based organizations count in the 20 percent |
| Counting a contracted teaching artist toward the 80% | No | CDE: contractors and vendors are not LEA employees |
| A residency or partnership with a museum, orchestra or theatre company | Yes, 20% | Statute: arts educational partnership programs |
| Paint, clay, paper and other studio supplies | Yes, 20% | Statute: supplies and materials |
| Instruments for a new band or strings program | Yes, 20% | Statute: supplies and materials. Follow your LEA's equipment policy |
| Cameras and editing software for a film or animation class | Yes, 20% | Statute: materials for media arts, which names film, video and animation |
| A computer coding course taught as media arts | Yes | CDE: lists computer coding under media arts |
| Costumes and set materials for a school musical | Yes, 20% | CDE: costume design and stagecraft are theatre |
| A purchased arts curriculum or textbooks | Yes, 20% | Statute: curriculum and instructional materials, named by AB 2440 |
| Professional development for arts teachers | Yes, 20% | Statute: professional development and training, named by AB 2440 |
| Arts activities in an LEA-run State Preschool | Yes | CDE: LEA-based preschools are funded; align to the Preschool/TK Learning Foundations |
| A coordinator's time spent administering the program | Yes, within 1% | Statute and CDE: administration, including indirect costs, is capped at 1 percent |
| The LEA's indirect cost rate charged on Prop 28 | Yes, within 1% | CDE: indirect costs count inside the 1 percent cap |
| Spending one school's allocation on another school's program | No | CDE and statute: each site's funds follow its own allocation; pooling must stay proportional |
| A one-time assembly performance with no instruction attached | Unclear | Not addressed. Statute centers on instruction and training; tie it to a lesson |
| Bus transportation for an arts field trip | Unclear | Not addressed by CDE or statute |
| Building or remodelling an arts classroom | Unclear | Not addressed. The statute's list is "not limited to" its examples, but names no facilities |
| Food for a family arts night | Unclear | Not addressed by CDE or statute |
Records that make an allowability decision defensible
- The site expenditure plan, with each line tied to a discipline and to the arts standards or framework.
- For each employee paid from Prop 28, the assignment showing arts instruction, and the percentage of time charged.
- Contracts and invoices for partners, showing the instruction delivered.
- The supplement-not-supplant calculation for the year.
- For anything in the "unclear" rows, the written advice you relied on.
Frequently asked questions
What can Prop 28 funds be used for?
Arts education programs in dance, media arts, music, theatre and visual arts, including instruction and training, supplies, materials, curriculum, instructional materials, professional development and arts educational partnership programs. Spending must supplement existing arts funding.
Does CDE approve Prop 28 expenses in advance?
No. CDE does not approve or deny individual expenditures. The LEA makes the decision, and the annual audit checks whether the funds were used for arts education programs.
Can Prop 28 pay for instruments?
Instruments are supplies and materials for a music program, which statute allows. For an LEA with 500 or more pupils they count in the 20 percent share, and they must add to, not replace, existing arts spending.
Is professional development an allowable Prop 28 cost?
Yes. AB 2440 names professional development, curriculum and instructional materials as arts education program costs. For LEAs with 500 or more pupils they count in the 20 percent share.
Can a teaching artist from a nonprofit be paid with Prop 28 funds?
Yes, as an arts educational partnership. Under CDE guidance, contractors and community-based organizations count in the 20 percent share, not the 80 percent staffing share.
Can Prop 28 be used for after-school arts programs?
Yes. CDE says arts instruction outside the school day or off campus is allowable, as long as the spending is consistent with statute.
Related guides
Screen every line as you write it, free
clearAMS gives every line in a site plan an advisory allowability check as it is written, so questions surface before review. A person still makes the call. The allocation and the 80/20 cap are hard limits. Free for every California district, county office and state special school.
Sources
- California Department of Education, Prop 28 Arts and Music in Schools FAQ (reviewed October 6, 2026)
- AB 2440 (Muratsuchi), Chapter 606, Statutes of 2026, with the text of Education Code sections 8820 and 8821, Digital Democracy
This article explains the law in plain terms and is not legal advice. Verdicts whose basis is "Statute" or "Not addressed" are our reading, not CDE rulings. Confirm details with your county office of education or counsel.