on the table.

R1

The Grand Jury recommends that governing boards direct appropriate budget staff to disclose the calculation of prior year spending on arts education at the same annual public hearing at which Proposition 28 spending reports are adopted, beginning no later than December 15, 2025.

R2

The Grand Jury recommends that governing boards either (1) direct appropriate budget staff to include spending from one-time revenues in the calculation of prior year arts education spending or (2) seek independent legal advice on how to account for such funds, by December 15, 2025. Response to Findings 1-2 and Associated Recommendations 1-2 We do not agree with these findings and the associated recommendations are unnecessary. Education Code Section 8820(i) requires that, as part of each local educational agency’s (LEA’s) annual compliance audit, the independent auditor verify that LEAs used Proposition 28 funds to supplement existing funding for arts education programs. The 2025-26 Guide for Annual Audits of K-12 Local Education Agencies and State Compliance Reporting (Audit Guide) issued by the California Education Audit Appeals Panel includes detailed procedures for LEAs and auditors to verify compliance with this requirement. Additionally, the CDE has developed an Excel worksheet that may be used to assist LEAs in demonstrating they have met the requirement, which is available at: Arts and Music in Schools Audit Compliance Worksheets. As a result, state law already provides for the independent validation of an LEA’s calculations and LEAs which follow the detailed calculations in the Audit Guide and CDE’s Excel worksheet can be assured that they will not lose funds. In addition, if any questions arise, LEAs are advised to verify these calculations with their auditor and seek guidance from their legal counsel.

R3

The Grand Jury recommends that governing boards direct appropriate staff to post Proposition 28 annual spending reports on an easy-to-find page on the school or district website by December 15, 2025. Response to Findings 3-4 and Associated Recommendation 3 We do not agree with these findings, and the associated recommendation is unnecessary. Education Code Section 8820(g)(4) requires that each LEA post on its website its annual Proposition 28 report. Failure to do so results in an audit finding and loss of funding. All our districts have complied with this requirement. However, state law does not specify where on an LEA’s website the report shall be placed. This is because it will need to differ for each LEA based on the needs of its community. LEAs are required to post multiple mandated reports and items on their websites and, as a result, must prioritize the placement of items to ensure the items most critical for and of most interest to their communities are readily available. In addition, we note that CDE maintains a master file of all LEA Proposition 28 reports on its website: The Arts and Music in Schools Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act LEA Annual Reports.

R4

The Grand Jury recommends that governing boards direct appropriate staff to explore all available programs to hire arts teachers and classified employees with Proposition 28 funds

R5

The Grand Jury recommends that governing boards adopt multi-year arts education plans to help ensure compliance with the law and to integrate new and expanded arts education programs into the overall curriculum by December 15, 2025. Response to Findings 5-6 and Associated Recommendations 4-5 We partially agree with Findings 5-6 and are already implementing Recommendations 4- 5. Education Code Section 8820(g)(1) requires LEAs to spend at least 80 percent of Proposition 28 funds to employ certificated or classified employees to provide arts education program instruction. This requirement has resulted in a significant statewide shortage of arts instructors, and, as a result, our districts have had difficulty hiring enough teachers to fully implement Proposition 28. Furthermore, as noted above, LEAs did not receive funding allocations from the CDE until June 2024. This delay in funding exacerbated the difficulty of hiring art teachers for 2024-2025 as most districts had to begin teacher recruitment efforts in January 2024 without knowing how many, if any, arts teachers they could fund. However, several of our districts have already developed multi-year implementation plans to address this issue as well as the other barriers to the expansion of arts education. In addition, our districts have: • Attended and hosted university, county, and regional recruitment fairs. • Launched initiatives to identify and support aspiring educators from within the community, including alumni, parents, and classified staff. • Worked with post-secondary institutions across the state to diversify recruitment pipelines, expand partnerships with credentialing programs, and increase awareness of new teaching opportunities in the arts. • Partnered with community arts organizations to not only provide immediate access to high-quality arts instruction for students but also serve as a pipeline for identifying potential educators who may transition into permanent positions with a district. • Created positions specifically to support and monitor arts implementation in the district. Several of our districts have also sought and obtained temporary waivers from the CDE of the requirement to spend at least 80 percent of Proposition 28 funds to employ certificated or classified employees. This has allowed them the flexibility to address several other barriers to expanding arts education including: • Retrofitting and furnishing existing classrooms and multipurpose rooms for arts instruction and to create performing spaces. • Purchasing high-quality arts instructional materials, instruments, equipment, and supplies. • Partnering with community arts organizations bringing professional artists and art educators into schools to provide additional learning opportunities. Additionally, the Sacramento County Office of Education’s (SCOE) School of Education is approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to support the preparation and development of high-quality teachers for Sacramento County. The School of Education is now approved to offer credentials in the arts. These new opportunities include options for current teachers to add a single-subject TK-12 credential in Visual Art, Dance, Music, or Theatre, as well as a pathway to earn a preliminary credential in these subject areas. In addition, teachers may pursue a Career Technical Education Credential in Arts, Media, and Entertainment. SCOE’s expanded credentials, along with the expansion of credentials for the arts from institutions of higher education, will positively impact the increase in the number of arts teachers in the coming years. Although our districts are expanding arts education and expect to fully expend the Proposition 28 funding, the restrictions on the use of the funds combined with the arts teacher shortage will continue to be a challenge, particularly in these early years of implementation. The efforts to recruit staff and expanded opportunities for educators to obtain arts credentials will increase qualified art educators in future years.

R6

The Grand Jury recommends that governing boards direct school site administrators to include parents in developing school site Proposition 28 spending plans by December 15, 2025. Response to Finding 7 and Associated Recommendation 6 We do not agree with this finding and the associated recommendation is unnecessary. Education Code Section 8820(e) requires the principal of each school site to develop an expenditure plan for the Proposition 28 funds and Education Code Section 8820(g)(4) requires that each LEA annually adopt a report that details the type of arts education programs funded by Proposition 28, among other things. However, there are no provisions in Proposition 28 or elsewhere in state law requiring parental participation in the development of these spending plans. Nevertheless, our districts have included parents in their planning processes or have solicited their input in other ways. All the districts that have developed a multi-year strategic arts plan sought input from families and community members. In addition, there are multiple other opportunities for parents to provide input on an LEA’s programs, including its arts education programs. As the Grand Jury’s report points out, parents are included in the development of the LEA’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) and each school site's School Plan for Student Achievement. Further, LEAs must hold a public hearing for their budget as well as for their LCAP and must make these documents available to the public in advance of the hearing so that the community can review and provide input prior to their adoption by the LEA’s Governing Board. Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Grand Jury report. If you have any questions regarding our response, please feel free to call Nicolas Schweizer, Sacramento County Office of Education Associate Superintendent of Business Services, at 916.228.2561. Sincerely, David W. Gordon Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools On behalf of Sacramento County Office of Education and its Board of Trustees Troy Miller, Superintendent On behalf of Arcohe Union School District and its Board of Trustees Christopher R. Hoffman, Superintendent On behalf of Elk Grove Unified School District and its Board of Trustees Erik Swanson, Superintendent On behalf of Folsom Cordova Unified School District and its Board of Trustees Robyn Castillo, Superintendent On behalf of Natomas Unified School District and its Board of Trustees Eileen Aguba Chen, Superintendent On behalf of Robla School District and its Board of Trustees Lisa Allen, Superintendent On behalf of Sacramento City School District and its Board of Trustees Melissa Bassanelli, Superintendent On behalf of San Juan Unified School District and its Board of Trustees Steve Martinez, Superintendent On behalf of Twin Rivers Unified School District and its Board of Trustees