ADVOCACY: 2010 ISSUES

State Issues

The revenue declines triggered by the global recession are putting the arts and arts education in the schools in jeopardy. A unified agenda, Top Arts, Arts Education, and Cultural Legislative Issues, has been developed through a consensus of virtually all statewide arts, arts education and cultural organizations and has been adopted by literally hundreds of organizations at the state and local level. A link is provided for your information.

Click here to download the Legislative Issues paper.

TALKING POINTS: 4 Reasons to Support Arts Education

1. Preparing Students for the 21st Century - The future success of America in the global economy will rely on its creativity and innovation. Arts education (music, visual art, theatre, dance) invites innovation by allowing students to work in a milieu where there are not “right answers” and self-direction is valued and facility and skill can only be developed through persistence.

…the difference between success and failure for the students who will grow up to be the workers of 21st Century America:*

• creativity and innovation
• facility with the use of ideas and abstractions
• self-discipline and organization 
• ability to function well as a member of a team

 * Tough Choices or Tough Times, The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, www.skillscommission.org
2. Reduce Dropout Rates - Student engagement; a study* of the 2008 cohort of Florida 12th graders showed that students with more arts education did better by all measures of academic achievement (SAT, FCAT Reading, Writing, Math) compared to students with less arts education.

• For the general population, the more arts classes taken, the higher student achievement
• For students on “free and reduced lunch,” an indicator of socioeconomic levels, the more arts classes taken, the higher the student achievement
• For students divided by ethnicity, the more arts classes taken, the higher the student achievement
• The more arts classes taken, the less likely a student is to dropout of school

3. Educate the Whole Child - The arts touch our emotions and help to develop the humanity of our students.  Educating our students to be whole people who are good neighbors, good parents, and good citizens.  Through arts education students learn to:

• Make connections with others
• Understand our culture and the cultures of others
• Increases empathy, acceptance of diversity,
• Is a means by which we understand ourselves and others

4. Jobs in the Arts

• Graphic designers outnumber chemical engineers by four to one
• 30% increase in people earning a living as writers (since 1950)
• 50% increase in music composers or performers (since 1950)
• More Americans today work in arts, entertainment, and design than work as lawyers, accountants, and auditors

Federal Issues

The Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network presented the following talking points relating to the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind Act at its Annual Meeting February 3-6. They are provided for your information.

TALKING POINTS

• The arts are designed as a “core academic subject,” but implementation of NCLB has led to the erosion of arts education in the schools. A 2007 study from the Center for Education Policy concludes that, since the enactment of NCLB, thirty percent of districts with at least one identified school – those with the students most responsive to the benefits of the arts—have decreased instruction time for art and music. Nevertheless, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has said, “Many educators across the country have shown that a focus in NCLB on reading and math is not mutually exclusive of the arts and music. In fact, we all know that a well-rounded curriculum that includes the arts and music contributes to higher academic achievement.” As Congress begins discussions on reauthorization of NCLB, it must address the law’s unintended consequences, which have diminished the presence of arts education in our schools.
  
• Parents, policymakers, and arts educators need more information at the state level. Collecting and publicly reporting the status and condition of arts education and other core academic subjects at the state level is critical to ensuring equitable access o a comprehensive education for all students. States should be required to collect and report annually comprehensive information about the status and condition of all core academic subjects for which challenging academic standards apply. Such information should include student enrollment, pupil/teacher ratios, amount of instructional time, budget allocation, teacher subject certification, full time equivalent teacher load, or other such measures chosen by the state to be significant in the subject area.
  
• The arts prepare students for success in school, work, and life. The 2006 report from the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, a bipartisan assembly of Secretaries of Education, state officials, and business leaders, said in its executive summary, “The best employers the world over will be looking for the most competent, most creative, and most innovative people on the face of the earth and will be willing to pay them top dollar for their services.” The report includes the arts as an essential skill for the future workforce.

 BACKGROUND

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 , the update of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), expired in September 2007 (an automatic one-year extension remains in place). Congress has begun the process of reauthorizing this law which recognizes the arts as a core academic subject, making them eligible for inclusion in board categories such as teacher training, school reform, technology, and after-school programs. However, in implementing NCLB, school systems are focusing largely on reading, math, and science at the expense of arts education and other core subjects of learning. A paper titled Arts Education: Creating Student Success in School, Work and Life (available at www.artsusa.org) which is a unified statement supported by more than 60 national arts education and education organizations is a tool for communicating the benefits of arts education to policymakers at all levels as federal lawmakers begin the process of reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act.