Bill > AB2440

This bill expands the definition of "arts education program" to include curriculum, instructional materials, and professional development, and requires all related activities and expenditures to align with specific state standards, such as the California Arts Standards for Public Schools. It also allows local educational agencies, or LEAs (which include school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools), to pool funds allocated for arts education, provided they ensure expenditures at each school site are proportional to its allocation and that expenditure plans are followed. Furthermore, the bill modifies the certification process for receiving these funds, requiring LEAs to compare their current arts education spending with a calculated amount of "existing funds" available for arts education, which involves subtracting prior year spending from Proposition 28 funds and resources no longer available, and then adding newly available resources. If current year expenditures meet or exceed this calculated "existing funds" amount, the LEA is considered compliant with the requirement to supplement, rather than replace, existing arts funding.