Governor Jerry Brown signed the state budget for the coming year which includes $44,080,000 to fund grants for enhancing visual and performing arts education or expanding access to physical and mental health care in schools.
SB 933, the Arts for Every Student Incentive Grant Program, was authored by Senator Ben Allen and sponsored by the California Alliance for Arts Education. The legislation is intended to provide underserved California school districts and special needs students with a "jump start" in arts education funding in order to bring California into better alignment with the state Education Code and provide students with robust visual and performing arts instruction.
“Every student is entitled to the benefits of high quality arts education,” said Joe Landon, Executive Director of the California Alliance for Arts Education. “This budget allocation will send resources where the need is greatest. Members of the Alliance are grateful to Senator Allen, for his leadership and commitment to California’s students.”
The allocation of funding comes from one-time federal Title IV funding for grants prioritized for enhancing visual and performing arts education, or expanding access to physical and mental health care, including dental and vision care, in schools by supporting school health centers. Division of funds between these two priorities, as well as details regarding the implementation of the grant program, has yet to be determined.
Over seventy letters from organizations, school districts and county offices of education were recorded in support of this legislation. The coalition in support of the program argued that access to arts education instruction should not be determined by where a student happens to live. Data from the California Arts Education Data Project concludes that students in districts and schools in low-income communities are twice as likely not to receive the benefits of arts instruction when compared to more affluent communities. The Arts for Every Student Incentive Grant Program is designed to support low-income school districts in improving access to high quality visual and performing arts programs.