The Benefits of Music Education for Children

The passing of California's Proposition 28 on November 8, 2022 guarantees the funding for arts and music education in K-12 public schools.The existing Proposition 98 already requires the state of California to spend a percentage of its funding on public education.Now, Prop.28 will further require the state to allocate 1% of Prop.98 funding for music and arts education-an estimated $1 billion dollars annually set aside for music programs in K-12 public schools and community colleges ("California Prop 28: Arts Education Funding").Although Prop.28 passed with ease (62.2% "Yes"), there were still 2,505,035 (37.8%) people that voted no.A portion who voted no on the proposition did so out of fear of an inevitable economic recession.Following the economic recession of 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had to push cuts in the state's funding to make up for revenue shortfalls, "an exercise made even more difficult by multiple spending mandates by voters" ("California Prop.28 Has Great Appeal").Even though the proposition is an appealing cause, many voters were worried about potential effects it would have on the economy.These voters may support the funding of arts and music programs, but are overwhelmingly concerned about the passing of this proposition during this market climate.However, according to former Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner, arts and music programs are often the first to be downsized when school district budgets are cut during economic downturns.This is a problem because the arts and music programs get the "shortend" of the stick compared to other school programs such as STEM and sports.Thus, Prop.28 would protect the defunding of music programs if an economic recession comes in the near future.