{"id":359054,"date":"2025-11-06T04:59:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T04:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/359054\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T04:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T04:59:15","slug":"a-lawsuit-against-lausd-over-prop-28-funds-moves-forward-after-superior-court-judge-ruling-daily-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/359054\/","title":{"rendered":"A lawsuit against LAUSD over Prop. 28 funds moves forward after Superior Court judge ruling \u2013 Daily News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday rejected the Los Angeles Unified School District\u2019s attempt to dismiss <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynews.com\/2025\/02\/12\/ex-lausd-beutner-urges-district-to-fix-its-mistake-after-filing-lawsuit-over-art-music-programs\/\/\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a lawsuit<\/a> filed by former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner, who accuses the district of misusing millions of dollars meant for arts and music instruction under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynews.com\/2022\/07\/07\/voters-to-decide-in-november-on-a-1b-increase-in-art-and-music-classes-for-california-kids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Proposition 28<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Beutner, who is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynews.com\/2025\/10\/11\/former-lausd-superintendent-austin-beutner-launches-2026-mayoral-bid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">running for Los Angeles mayor<\/a>, stood outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse surrounded by teachers, parents and students who support the proposition, including a parent of several student plaintiffs. He called the ruling \u201ca huge win today for kids\u201d and said it reinforces the promise of the voter-approved arts education measure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the court today, L.A. Unified continues to spend millions of dollars on lawyers to say they don\u2019t have to follow the law,\u201d Beutner said. \u201cWhat the judge said today is, \u2018This is serious, this is going to go to trial,\u2019 and they dismissed L.A. Unified\u2019s specious argument that they don\u2019t have to hire teachers at every school.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mng-gallery-initialized mng-gallery-slider\">\n<li data-index=\"1\" class=\"mng-ge mng-gallery-active\" id=\"mng-ge-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and arts education advocates hosted...\" class=\"size-article_inline\"  \/>\n<p>Former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and arts education advocates hosted a press conference Wednesday morning, Nov. 5, 2025 outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles following a Superior Court hearing about LAUSD misusing $76.7 million in Prop 28 funds\u2013money earmarked for music and art education.  (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles daily News\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"2\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Tracy Abbott Cook, Parents Supporting Teachers, speaks as former LAUSD...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LDN-L-PROP28-HEARING-1106-DM-03_81f943.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Tracy Abbott Cook, Parents Supporting Teachers, speaks as former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and other arts education advocates hosted a press conference Wednesday morning, Nov. 5, 2025 outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles following a Superior Court hearing about LAUSD misusing $76.7 million in Prop 28 funds\u2013money earmarked for music and art education.  (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles daily News\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"3\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and arts education advocates hosted...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LDN-L-PROP28-HEARING-1106-DM-04.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and arts education advocates hosted a press conference Wednesday morning, Nov. 5, 2025 outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles following a Superior Court hearing about LAUSD misusing $76.7 million in Prop 28 funds\u2013money earmarked for music and art education.  (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles daily News\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 3<\/p>\n<p>Former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and arts education advocates hosted a press conference Wednesday morning, Nov. 5, 2025 outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles following a Superior Court hearing about LAUSD misusing $76.7 million in Prop 28 funds\u2013money earmarked for music and art education.  (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles daily News\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Filed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynews.com\/2025\/02\/11\/lausd-is-sued-for-alleged-misuse-of-nearly-80-million-in-arts-and-music-funds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in February<\/a>, the suit by Beutner and eight student plaintiffs through their guardians alleges LAUSD and Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynews.com\/2025\/04\/04\/state-lawmaker-seek-audit-of-lausd-over-alleged-misuse-of-arts-funding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">violated the requirements of Proposition 28<\/a> by diverting $76.7 million to pay existing staff for existing art programs rather than hiring additional arts teachers and creating new art classes, as the law requires.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson from LAUSD said that while the district would not comment on specifics of the ongoing litigation, it looks forward to having the case decided on its merits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLos Angeles Unified recognizes the profound importance of the arts and prioritizes arts instruction, programming and investments,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cLos Angeles Unified continues to follow implementation guidance as provided by the state of California to ensure that we are fully complying with the requirements of Prop 28, and we are committed to providing arts exposure for every student in Los Angeles Unified regardless of their zip code.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Approved overwhelmingly by California voters in November 2022, Proposition 28 requires the state to set aside an estimated $800 million to $1 billion each year for arts and music education on top of existing school funding, starting in 2023-24.<\/p>\n<p>Districts are required to use at least 80% of the money to hire new arts and music teachers, with additional allocations for schools serving high numbers of low-income students.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where Beutner said he believes the district fell short.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat Proposition 28 does is provide extra money for schools to hire that teacher so that every kid from preschool to 12th grade has arts,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd art isn\u2019t just the sprinkles on top of an ice cream sundae, art is the glue that holds a good education together. It\u2019s that sense of belonging that activates pathways in the brain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those kinds of opportunities are what shaped Josu\u00e9 L. Manc\u00eda, a LAUSD graduate who helped advocate for Proposition 28 and is now studying music education in college.<\/p>\n<p>Manc\u00eda said he grew up in Pico-Union, \u201cwhere drugs and violence, and gangs were always close to me \u2013 trouble was easy to find. But music was my way to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now he\u2019s working to pass that same gift on to others through Strive, a nonprofit that provides education, mentorship and arts instruction to youth in low-income and high risk communities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve seen students find their voice through music,\u201d Manc\u00eda said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen their confidence boom. I\u2019ve seen them heal through music, and I\u2019ve seen hope return. That\u2019s the power of the arts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among those celebrating the court\u2019s ruling was Julie McManus, a retired LAUSD art teacher who said she wants to see Proposition 28 dollars reach every child.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe money does get to the campuses, we can see that it is budgeted, but it doesn\u2019t always make it out to every child,\u201d McManus said. \u201cThe principal has the prerogative to spend that money how they want. They call it the purview of the principal to spend that money, but the taxpayers have set aside a portion of that money for art supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said teachers often end up fundraising or paying out of pocket for materials, and that shrinking budgets have already forced teachers to scale back creative projects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe projects just got smaller and smaller, like we were still teaching art, but we just couldn\u2019t get big sheets of paper, we couldn\u2019t get big canvases\u201d McManus said. \u201cSo instead of making large projects, we\u2019re making smaller and smaller projects because we\u2019re using up all the old supplies, trying to make them last as long as possible. \u201c<\/p>\n<p>Tracy Abbott Cook, parent of a 2020 LAUSD graduate and a member of Parents Supporting Teachers, a parent advocacy group, said the ruling renews parents\u2019 hope that the district will honor the intent of Proposition 28.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re really at a point where we can start demanding people in authority to do the right thing,\u201d said Cook, who was holding a sign that said, \u201cLAUSD broke the Prop. 28 law. Fix it now!\u201d Cook said, \u201cParents were very, very angry when this happened, when they found out their kids were being cheated, because they know their kid\u2019s heart will expand in art.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vicky Martinez, whose several children attend LAUSD schools and are among the student plaintiffs, urged district leaders to act quickly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo right by our students,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re waiting for. Let\u2019s do this now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beutner said the next step in the case will be depositions. His team plans to launch a public website to share the process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday rejected the Los Angeles Unified School District\u2019s attempt to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":359055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[14072,1582,276,2961,72161,728,224,6080,5337,50,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-359054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-alberto-carvalho","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-la","12":"tag-lausd","13":"tag-local-news","14":"tag-los-angeles","15":"tag-los-angeles-county","16":"tag-losangeles","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115500991679020385","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}