On December 10, after nearly fifteen years of No Child Left Behind, the federal government said goodbye to that version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act when President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act..
I happened to be in Washington, D.C. when this momentous event occurred and while the birds were not singing in the trees, there was a palpable buzz among education advocates throughout the Beltway and, I imagine, far beyond. The new iteration of the law—forever to be known as ESSA—significantly curtails the federal government’s role in education and instead allows education to set their own standards and accountability systems. While ESSA is not quite the “Christmas Miracle” that the President called the law, it does offer plenty of meaningful changes for students, parents, administrators and education advocates, particularly those working at the state level. Among other things, it dismantles federal accountability requiring schools to demonstrate academic progress through standardized test scores and reduces the legal authority of the secretary of education from influencing state policy in such things as implementation of the Common Core. ESSA still requires annual and reading testing in grades 3-8 and states must report scores by race, income and disability.
And arts education? There’s some really good news: ESSA includes more than a dozen or so arts-friendly provisions (advocates are still figuring out an exact number) that help improve the opportunity for theatre and other arts education availability for all students. Most importantly, the law asserts that arts education should be part of the well-rounded education of all students. The “well rounded” language, replacing NCLB’s core subject area definition of academic areas, is key to understanding where and how in the law arts education can access federal funds to ensure equal access to our discipline.
For the moment, here’s the basics you need to know about the arts and the Every Student Succeeds Act:
- The arts and music are included in a definition of a “well-rounded education,” a term that has replaced the current definition of "core academic subjects," which had included the “arts.” The well-rounded education definition broadens the list of subjects and appears in provisions related to afterschool and expanded learning time, English language learners, literacy, and more. This means that advocates can encourage local and state education policymakers to use their federal funds in these areas to support arts and music education. Here’s specific language in ESSA:
"WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION: The term 'well-rounded education' means courses, activities, and programming in subjects such as English, reading or language arts, writing, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, geography, computer science, music, career and technical education, health, physical education, and any other subject, as determined by the State or local educational agency, with the purpose of providing all students access to an enriched curriculum and educational experience.''
- The subjects listed in the definition of a well-rounded education—including arts and music education—affirm eligibility for Title I funds. Title I funds are the largest pool of federal resources dedicated to ensuring equitable access to a complete education for all students.
- The programs supported by the current Arts in Education fund are retained as a newly named “Assistance for Arts Education” fund. This is a significant win as many other small programs of this kind were eliminated in the new bill. The Arts Education fund includes national competitive grants to support partnerships among schools and community-based organizations.
- Arts and music education are specified as eligible uses for new, state-administered “Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants.” Local education agencies will apply to states for the funds and are asked to consult with community-based organizations and other public stakeholders when preparing their applications. Most significantly, the arts have been integrated into STEM learning programs, which are also a specified area of eligibility for the new grants.
- 21st Century Community Learning Center funding is maintained, and arts and music education are specified as eligible for support under "expanded learning time" provisions. Afterschool, out of school, and summer learning programs are key areas in which arts organizations partner with schools to support student learning in the arts.
- Accountability requirements are more flexible. While tests in reading and math are still required under the new bill, states are given flexibility in incorporating other measures of student success into their accountability plans - such as student engagement - and are encouraged to use portfolio and project based-assessment when measuring student learning, which may open the door to increased support of arts education strategies.
t will take planning, collaboration and patience to make these opportunities a reality, so now is the time to start reaching out to your network of arts advocates in your own community—in the fall, 2016, ESSA will be the law by which school districts throughout the country will be delivering education. To help you get started, see EdTA’s ESSA Guide to Theatre Education Opportunities under the Advocacy section of Schooltheatre.org. I