Arts, Music & Instructional Materials FAQs

Funding Calculations and Apportionment of Funds

1. How much is available for the AMIM Block Grant?

   Section 134 of Assembly Bill (AB) 181 (Chapter 52, Statutes of 2022), as amended by Section 56 of AB 185 (Chapter 571, Statutes of 2022), established the AMIM Block Grant and appropriated $3.56 billion. An additional $73.6 million was appropriated in AB 178 (Chapter 45, Statutes of 2022) for a total available of $3,633,600,000.

   Section 102 of Senate Bill 114 (Chapter 48, Statutes of 2023) reduced the program by $200 million, which reduced the total funding available to $3,433,600,000.

2. Who is eligible to receive AMIM Block Grant funds?

   School districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools.

3. How will the AMIM Block Grant funding be calculated?

   Funds will be apportioned proportionally to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) based on an equal amount per unit of average daily attendance (ADA) for kindergarten and grades one through twelve, as those numbers were reported as of the fiscal year (FY) 2021–22 second principal apportionment. The ADA for each state special school shall be deemed to be 97 percent of the enrollment as reported in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System as of the FY 2021–22 Fall 1 Submission.

   Allocations for eligible LEAs and state special schools are available on the AMIM Grant Funding Results web page available on the Arts, Music & Instructional Materials Block Grant web page.

4. When can local educational agencies (LEAs) expect to receive the AMIM Block Grant funds?

   The California Department of Education (CDE) released the first apportionment of funds, reflecting 50 percent of the allocation for each LEA and state special school, in December 2022. The remainder was originally scheduled to be disbursed in May 2023. However, since the proposed California budget included a potential reduction for this program, the May 2023 allocation was paused until the California Budget Act was passed. In July 2023, SB 114 reduced the AMIM Grant appropriation by $200,000,000. The CDE recalculated LEA allocations based on the reduced funding levels and released a second apportionment in September 2023.

5. What is the Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS) code for the AMIM Block Grant?

   SACS Resource Code 6762, Arts, Music, and Instructional Materials Discretionary Block Grant.

6. How long do local educational agencies (LEAs) and state special school have to spend the AMIM Block Grant?

   Funds may be encumbered through the 2025-26 fiscal year.

7. What are the allowable uses of the Arts, Music, and Instructional Materials Discretionary Block Grant?

   Pursuant to Section 134(a) of Assembly Bill (AB) 181 (Chapter 52, Statutes of 2022) as amended by Section 56 of AB 185 (Chapter 571, Statutes of 2022), funds are available to:
   

   1. Obtain standards-aligned professional development and instructional materials, in the following subject areas:
      1. Visual and performing arts
      2. World languages
      3. Mathematics
      4. Science, including environmental literacy
      5. English language arts, including early literacy
      6. Ethnic studies
      7. Financial literacy, including the content specified in Section 51284.5 of the California Education Code
      8. Media Literacy
      9. Computer Science
      10. History-social science
   2. Obtain instructional materials and professional development aligned to best practices for improving school climate, including training on de-escalation and restorative justice strategies, asset-based pedagogies, antibias, transformative social-emotional learning, media literacy, digital literacy, physical education, and learning through play.
   3. Develop diverse book collections and obtain culturally relevant texts, including leveled texts, in both English and pupils’ home languages, to support pupils’ independent reading. It is the intent of the Legislature that these book collections and culturally relevant texts be used to provide support for pupils through the establishment of site-based school and classroom libraries that are culturally relevant to pupils’ home and community experiences and be available in English, pupils’ home language, or a combination of more than one language.
   4. Operational costs, including but not limited, to retirement and health care cost increases.
   5. As related to the COVID-19 pandemic, acquire personal protective equipment, masks, cleaning supplies, COVID-19 tests, ventilation upgrades, and other similar expenditures, if they are necessary to keep pupils and staff safe from COVID-19 and schools open for in-person instruction.

   
   Pursuant to Section 134(c), local educational agencies are encouraged, but not required, to proportionally use resources received pursuant to this section for the purposes noted in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of Section 134(a) and to support arts and music education programs.