Los Angeles Unified School District students and Proposition 28 author Austin Beutner have filed a lawsuit against the school district and Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, alleging the misuse of $76.7 million in Prop. 28 funds dedicated for art and music education.
The Los Angeles Superior Court suit was filed Monday, Feb. 10, and contends that hundreds of thousands of students have been deprived of receiving expanded arts and music instruction as mandated by law.
Parents of the plaintiffs, all LAUSD students, issued a joint statement calling art and music education essential for their children to develop the skills they need in the classroom, in their careers and throughout their lives. Beutner, a businessman, civic leader and former deputy mayor, was the superintendent of LAUSD from May 2018 to June 2021.
One plaintiff, a 15-year-old Franklin High School Latina student, has never been able to take an arts class at that campus or when she was enrolled at Luther Bank Middle School, the suit alleges.
“Although plaintiff Alana S. is required to take at least one art class to graduate, she is not sure whether she will be able to get into one at Franklin High School because of how rare they are,” according to the suit, which further states that her mother is looking for an after-school art program as a replacement.
“LAUSD is denying our children and their classmates the expanded arts and music education in every school that Prop 28 provided,” the statement read. “We are disappointed that we must go to court to compel Supt. Carvalho and LAUSD to follow the law.”
LAUSD issued a statement regarding the suit, saying they have not been served with the complaint.
“That said, we have sought to clarify any misunderstandings regarding Prop. 28 and we continue to follow implementation guidance as provided by the state of California to ensure that we are fully complying with the requirements of Prop 28,” according to the statement.
The lawsuit is supported by unions representing nearly all of LAUSD’s workforce, including United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), Service Employees International Union, Local 99 and Teamsters Local 572.
Passed by California voters in 2022 to address longstanding underfunding of arts and music education, Prop. 28 provides dedicated funding to school districts to hire arts and music teachers and aides at all campuses so that each student benefits from increased arts and music instruction.
The official ballot pamphlet, prepared by the state Legislative Analyst’s Office, states that schools must certify that the funds were spent in addition to existing funding for arts education programs.
Prop. 28 also provides additional funding for schools attended by students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, in recognition that students from low-income families and particularly Black and Latino students often suffer the most from a lack of art and music education.
In accepting Prop 28 funds, school districts are required to use this money to increase and not replace funding for existing art and music instruction and to allocate at least 80% of the funds to hire arts teachers and aides to provide music and art instruction.
“LAUSD failed both requirements,” the suit alleges.