By: Menéndez S.B. No. 549
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to creating a fine arts allotment under the public school
finance system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 48.116 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.116. FINE ARTS ALLOTMENT. (a) For each student in
average daily attendance enrolled in a fine arts education course
approved by the agency under Subsection (b) in grades 6 through 12,
a school district is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the
basic allotment, or, if applicable, the sum of the basic allotment
and the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the district is
entitled, multiplied by:
(1) 1.3 for a student in grades 6 through 8;
(2) 1.2 for a student in grade 9 or 10; and
(3) 1.1 for a student in grade 11 or 12.
(b) The agency shall approve fine arts education courses
that qualify for the allotment provided under this section. The
approved courses must include fine arts education courses that:
(1) are authorized by the State Board of Education,
including music, art, theater, and dance;
(2) provide students with the knowledge and skills
necessary for success in the fine arts; and
(3) require a student in full-time attendance to
receive not less than 225 minutes of fine arts instruction per week.
(c) Of the funds allocated under this section:
(1) at least 25 percent of the funds allocated under
Subsection (a)(1) must be used in a manner that prioritizes
providing fine arts education to students in grades six through
eight who are eligible for the compensatory education allotment
under Section 48.104;
(2) 50 percent of the total funds allocated under this
section must be used to provide fine arts education courses to
students in grades six through eight; and
(3) except as necessary to meet the requirement under
Subdivision (2), at least 75 percent of funds allocated under
Subsections (a)(2) and (3) must be used to provide fine arts
education courses to students in grades 9 through 12.
(d) The agency shall annually publish a list of fine arts
courses approved under Subsection (b).
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.