Prepared November 5, 2026. Some races remain uncalled, reported seat totals may change, and all election results remain unofficial pending certification.

Executive Summary

The 2026 midterms created a more favorable political environment for arts education in Pennsylvania and nationally. Gov. Josh Shapiro won reelection, and Democrats secured a projected Pennsylvania governing trifecta with a 26–24 state Senate majority and at least 111 House seats. Philadelphia voters also approved permanently establishing Creative Philadelphia in the city’s Home Rule Charter.

Nationally, Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress and Republican-held governorships in Texas, Iowa, Ohio, Georgia, and Nevada. By early Thursday, CNN projected at least 245 Democratic House seats; the final Senate margin remained unresolved.

The election creates opportunities to strengthen school funding, increase Pennsylvania’s arts investment, and protect federal arts programs. But political support does not guarantee fiscal capacity. Pennsylvania’s structural deficit and implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will put competing demands on the next state budget. Nationally, the outgoing Congress—not the incoming Democratic majority—faces the immediate December funding deadline.

The Pennsylvania Picture

A New Governing Alignment

Shapiro’s reelection and projected Democratic legislative majorities replace divided government with unified party control. That creates a different path for education and arts proposals, but it does not eliminate disagreements over priorities, revenues, or spending.

The Senate majority is projected at 26–24, and Democrats have won at least 111 House seats. Certification remains outstanding; projected chamber control and formal certification are separate stages.

School Funding and Arts Funding Are Related—but Distinct

Arts education depends heavily on districts’ capacity to support teachers, courses, instruments, materials, and facilities. General school funding therefore matters alongside arts-specific grants.

The FY2026–27 budget provides a baseline for evaluating the next proposal: a $565 million increase through the adequacy and tax equity formula, a $58 million increase for Basic Education Funding, and a $55 million increase for special education.

The next budget should be assessed on both fronts: whether school funding allows districts to sustain and expand instruction, and whether dedicated arts appropriations support cultural organizations, community programs, and educational partnerships. An increase in one category is not automatically an increase in the other.

Arts Advocates Have Concrete Benchmarks

Pennsylvania’s FY2026–27 budget increased the Grants to the Arts appropriation from $9.59 million to $10.59 million. This is the official name of the state budget line item, rather than the name of a single grant program.

The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council’s candidate questionnaire documented priorities for building on that investment:

• Jessica Benham described the approximately $10.59 million appropriation as a starting point and cited advocates’ request for an additional $5 million as a useful benchmark.
• Lindsey Williams supported continued increases and allowing state funding to cover artists, educators, and other arts-sector personnel.

These positions establish advocacy benchmarks, not an agreed legislative package. The test will be whether they appear in budget proposals and enacted appropriations.

Vouchers Face a Less Favorable Environment

The projected Democratic trifecta creates a less favorable environment for private-school scholarship expansion, but it does not establish that every possible proposal is off the table.

Arts educators should evaluate actual legislation and budget agreements for their effects on public-school resources and instructional access rather than assume the election has settled the issue.

Philadelphia Secures Its Arts Office

Philadelphia voters approved permanently establishing Creative Philadelphia in the Home Rule Charter and requiring the mayor to appoint a chief cultural officer.

The measure strengthens the office’s institutional standing. It does not itself provide a dedicated school arts appropriation; its educational impact will depend on leadership, budgets, programming, and partnerships.

The National Picture

A More Favorable Congress, With Limits

Democratic control of Congress improves the prospects for defending the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Education’s Assistance for Arts Education program against proposed elimination. It also creates a more favorable environment for oversight of grant cancellations, departmental restructuring, and whether appropriated funds reach recipients.

The distinction between appropriations and implementation matters. Congress preserved funding for arts programs despite the administration’s elimination proposals, but grant cancellations and administrative restrictions still disrupted recipients. Protecting a budget line does not necessarily ensure uninterrupted delivery.

The incoming majority will also face constraints: the president retains veto power, bipartisan support may be necessary to reach agreements, and arts education will compete with larger economic and policy priorities.

The Immediate Funding Fight Comes Before the Transition

The current federal funding deadline is December 11, 2026. The new Congress does not take office until January 3, 2027.

The outgoing Congress could complete FY2027 appropriations, extend temporary funding into 2027, or leave funding unresolved. The election changes negotiating leverage, but it does not automatically give incoming Democrats control over the final FY2027 funding bills.

Arts Education Legislation Still Requires Action

The Arts Education for All Act, S. 5635, remains referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, with its latest recorded action on September 30, 2026.

Unless enacted before the current Congress ends, it will need to be reintroduced. A more supportive majority creates an opening, but reintroduction, bipartisan sponsorship, committee consideration, and floor action—not the election result alone—will demonstrate progress.

Public-School Funding Remains Central

Democratic gubernatorial victories in Texas and Iowa followed campaigns emphasizing public-school investment and opposition to voucher expansion. Those outcomes strengthen public-school advocates, although they do not establish a uniform national education mandate.

For arts education, the practical questions remain how state budgets support districts, whether schools can sustain arts staffing and courses, and how changes to private-school choice programs affect public-school resources.

What to Watch Next

1. Pennsylvania’s FY2027–28 School and Arts Funding Levels

Shapiro’s next budget proposal will provide the first concrete test of the new governing alignment. Watch Basic Education Funding, the adequacy and tax equity formula, special education, and the separate Grants to the Arts appropriation.

Compare proposed increases with the FY2026–27 baseline and advocates’ arts funding targets. Also examine whether increases support expanded services or are largely absorbed by existing staffing and operating costs.

2. The Structural Deficit and Competing State Obligations

Pennsylvania’s recurring spending commitments exceed recurring revenues. The next budget also faces approximately $1.3 billion in Medical Assistance payments deferred from FY2026–27 into FY2027–28.

Watch whether lawmakers rely on recurring revenue, spending restraint, reserves, further payment shifts, or a combination of approaches. The implications for arts education are not predetermined cuts, but tighter competition among school funding, human services, and arts-specific appropriations.

3. Implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

The federal law’s Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program changes overlap with Pennsylvania’s next budget cycle:

• SNAP administration: The state’s share of administrative expenses increased to 75% on October 1, 2026. Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services estimates an additional state cost of $120 million when fully implemented.
• Medicaid requirements: Work and community-engagement requirements are scheduled for January 1, 2027.
• SNAP benefit contributions: Potential state contributions begin October 1, 2027. DHS estimates costs could reach $660 million under the highest-cost scenario it describes; that amount is contingent, not a fixed obligation.

Implementation costs, eligibility changes, and decisions about replacing lost federal support could narrow the resources available for school and arts investment. These are indirect but consequential pressures, not automatic reductions in arts funding.

4. December’s Federal Appropriations Decisions

Watch whether the outgoing Congress completes FY2027 funding or extends temporary appropriations into 2027. That decision will determine how much of the immediate funding fight falls to the incoming majority.

5. Federal Arts Education Legislation and Oversight

Watch for reintroduction and committee consideration of the Arts Education for All Act if it does not become law this Congress. Oversight should also be assessed by whether it improves grant stability and delivery—not simply by whether hearings occur.

6. Final Results and Philadelphia Implementation

Outstanding U.S. Senate races will determine the incoming majority’s final margin, while Pennsylvania proceeds through certification. In Philadelphia, watch how the charter amendment translates into leadership, budgets, and educational partnerships.

Bottom Line

The election gives arts education advocates a more favorable political opening, particularly in Pennsylvania. The next challenge is converting that alignment into sustainable funding and reliable delivery.

Pennsylvania’s FY2027–28 budget will be the clearest test: lawmakers must weigh continued school and arts investment against a structural deficit, deferred obligations, and new federal cost pressures. Nationally, December’s lame-duck negotiations will shape the funding landscape before the new Congress takes office. Success should be measured in resources reaching classrooms and communities, not party control alone.