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Black smoke signals no pope was elected on first day of Vatican conclave; Nine in 10 people surveyed back climate action; 'Three-Fifths' comments ignite Indiana controversy; In Minnesota, SNAP benefits reach farmers markets, other parts of the economy.

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As Congress debates Medicaid cuts and emissions rollbacks, former presidential candidate John Kasich calls for protecting vulnerable Americans, veterans link fossil fuel dependence to military deaths, and federal funding cuts threaten health and jobs.

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DOGE guts a 30-year-old national service program, cuts are likely but Head Start may be spared elimination in the next budget, moms are the most vulnerable when extreme weather hits, and there's a croaking sound coming from rural California.

Advocates hope to teach CA lawmakers an art lesson

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Wednesday, April 23, 2025   

Supporters of the arts are gathering Wednesday in Sacramento for Arts Advocacy Day in order to lobby lawmakers on a range of issues.

Educators are drawing attention to problems with the implementation of Proposition 28, which was supposed to help schools hire more art teachers.

Abe Flores, deputy director of policy and programs for the nonprofit Create CA, said some districts are doing something of a "bait and switch."

"Some schools are using the new Prop 28 funding to replace their existing investments in arts education," Flores pointed out. "Their students are not seeing a net increase in their arts teachers or arts programming."

The Los Angeles Unified School District is currently being sued over the issue by local parents and by the author of Proposition 28. Create CA also wants the state to designate the visual and performing arts as a qualified shortage area, so people studying to become an arts education teachers have access to more financial aid. They'd like to see lawmakers pass Assembly Bill 1128, which supports grants for student teachers.

Julie Baker, CEO of the advocacy group California for the Arts, said they will be asking lawmakers to restore funding to a number of different programs which have been zeroed out in the past few years.

"California is number one in the United States for arts jobs," Baker noted. "But we're actually 35th in the United States in per capita funding to our state arts agency, which is the California Arts Council."

California for the Arts is also promoting a bill to make it easier for cities to hire muralists by removing a requirement they be licensed painting contractors.

Disclosure: Create CA contributes to our fund for reporting on Arts & Culture, Budget Policy and Priorities, Education, and Youth Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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