Take Federal Action for Arts Education
During National Arts in Education Week, September 8-14, you can take two minutes to reach out to your Members of Congress asking them to support adequate Arts Education funding at the federal level.
In December 2015, Congress passed bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESSA) in a landslide vote. ESSA, the current iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), includes art and music in the definition of a “well-rounded education.” Within ESSA, there are several opportunities for the federal government to fund and support equitable access to Arts Education for K-12 students around the country. This includes well-rounded funding found in Titles I, II and IV, as well as the Arts in Education grant program. To help provide a quality arts education for all students, these programs must be adequately funded to support efforts at the state and local levels.
Both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees have passed funding levels for these programs, but the Senate levels are much more favorable. Please ask your Member of Congress to support funding in the Senate Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill which provides either level funding or modest increases from last year. Together, we can make our voices heard to support Arts Education!