In July of 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution #275 designating the second week of September as National Arts in Education Week. The resolution expressed congressional support for arts education:
Whereas arts education, comprising a rich array of disciplines including dance, music, theatre, media arts, literature, design, and visual arts, is a core academic subject and an essential element of a complete and balanced education for all students.
Get Involved
Get the facts about the benefits of arts learning for students and teachers. Did you know that arts learning is linked to positive student outcomes such as engagement and persistence, overall academic achievement, communication and collaboration, and positive behavior, among others? Visit ArtsEdSearch.org, a first-of-its-kind clearinghouse of arts education research, to learn more about these and other benefits of arts learning for teachers and students.
Find out what is going on in your school, district, and state. What are the policies in place in your community that either support or hinder student access and participation in arts learning? You can use the Arts Education State Policy Database to find out information about your state. This searchable database contains the latest information on arts education state policies and practices. Since 1999, AEP has gathered these data through an annual survey of arts education personnel in state education agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Important Resources
What School Leaders Can do to Increase Arts Education (2011): As the top building-level leaders, school principals play a key role in ensuring every student receives a high-quality arts education as part of a complete education. This brochure-length guide, prepared by AEP with support from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) offers three concrete actions—supported by low-cost or no-cost strategies—school principals can take to increase arts education in their schools. (Download the PDF)
The President’s Committee for the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH): In 2011, PCAH released a major report documenting the benefits and potential opportunities for the advancement of arts education. (Download the full report).
Arts Access in U.S. Schools (2009-10 FRSS): Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 and 2009-10 is a report released by the U.S. Department of Education and its Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that reports on data collected on student access to arts education and the resources available for such instruction. AEP and a coalition of partners have developed a toolkit for understanding, communicating, and utilizing the Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools report. (Learn more)