Policies and Guidelines

California Arts Education Policies & Mandates
Source: California Department of Education

Defines the "arts" to include the four disciplines of dance, drama and theatre, music, and visual arts as set forth in the state's adopted curriculum framework for visual and performing arts.

Areas of Study: Grades 1 to 6 (e) Visual and performing arts, including instruction in the subjects of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts, aimed at the development of aesthetic appreciation and the skills of creative expression.

Areas of Study: Grades 7 to 12 (g) Visual and performing arts, including dance, music, theatre, and visual arts, with emphasis upon development of aesthetic appreciation and the skills of creative expression.

Education Code Section 51225.3 (Senate Bill 813, Passed in 1983)
Includes among the academic subjects required for graduation from high school a year of a visual or performing art (dance, music, theatre, or visual art) or a year of foreign language.

Education Code Section 60605.1 (added September 2000)
Requires the State Board of Education to adopt content standards, pursuant to recommendations developed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in the visual and performing arts. (Standards adopted by State Board of Education January 10, 2001).

(adopted by the California State Board of Education, January 2001)
Explicit content for inclusion in visual and performing arts programs at each grade level, pre-kindergarten through grade eight and in grades nine through twelve. Download a copy of the Standards on the California Department of Education web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp or call CDE Press at 916-445-1260.

The 2004 edition of the Visual and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools is based on the Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards adopted in January 2001. It incorporates the content standards for dance, music, theater, and the visual arts and defines the five strands of an arts program: artistic perception; creative expression; historical and cultural context; aesthetic valuing; and connections, relationships, and applications. Download the full framework or individual chapters at http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/fd/vpaframework.asp [PDF documents] or order from CDE Press 916-445-1260.

The University of California and the California State University systems have revised admission requirements to include a year of visual and performing arts that will apply to entering freshman students in Fall 2003. For information on aligning high school courses in the arts to these new requirements you can find an interactive guide at http://pathstat1.ucop.edu/ag/a-g/index.html.

Federal Arts Education Policies & Mandates

This guide is designed for state and local arts and education leaders to learn more about "No Child Left Behind (NCLB)" and the multiple opportunities for arts education. It provides a brief overview of the legislation and specific programs as well as links for additional information. To download the document in PDF format go to http://www.nasaa-arts.org/nasaanews/al_resources.htm.

No Child Left Behind Act
For more details about NCLB, visit the U.S. Dept. of Education web site at http://www.nochildleftbehind.gov.

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation emphasizes the importance of leveraging the power of technology in all areas of K-12 education. Education leaders at the state and local levels are expected to develop plans that effectively employ technology to enhance learning and increase student achievement. The Northeast and Islands Regional Technology Consortium (NEIRTEC) has created a series of Technology Briefs for NCLB planners. The topics of these briefs were selected to reflect the U.S. Department of Education requirements for state and local applications, and they provide NCLB planners with effective strategies, key questions to consider, and selected resources that will inform the application and planning process.

http://www.neirtec.org/products/techbriefs/default.asp     

Policy Resources

Arts Education in Public Schools Resource Center

Americans for the Arts and the National School Boards Association have teamed up to compile a very comprehensive online resource center, Arts Education in Public Schools, which covers topics such as arts and academic achievement, arts education policy, assessing the needs of your district, making arts education a priority, funding resources and other valuable resources. Access the policy section at:
http://ww3.artsusa.org/services/arts_education/resource_center/resource_center_002.asp

The Princeton University Library and Princeton University's Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies launched the Cultural Policy & the Arts National Data Archive (CPANDA) on April 2, 2003, the world's first fully interactive, Web-accessible digital archive of policy-relevant data on culture and the arts. The CPANDA initiative is designed to help policymakers, journalist, scholars and others gain easy access both to current research findings and to previously hard-to-find data on the arts, including public opinion on the arts, city-specific data and recently released statistics. The archive is accessible at:
http://www.cpanda.org

Prepared by the Illinois Arts Alliance, this resource investigates the design, implementation, and funding of arts education policy in ten states, including California. To download a PDF of the report, go to http://www.americansforthearts.org/pdf/arts_ed/artsed_policyreport.pdf

The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) maintains a database of state arts education policy information compiled through surveys and interviews with arts specialists at state departments of education. It is searchable by state or topic, and provides state arts education policy information related to standards, assessments, professional development, certification and licensure, graduation requirements and funding.
http://www.aep-arts.org/database/

This publication supported by the Pew Charitable Trust shows that advocates on the state level are having success developing reliable funding for arts and culture through opportunistic coalition-building that brings together the interests of public and private, cultural and non-cultural groups and agencies. Download the report at: http://www.culturalpolicy.org/state-cp/home.htm

The Center’s book on arts education, makes a new argument for moving the arts, usually located on the margins of public education, to its center. By examining the role of the arts in education, investigating the cognitive benefits of learning in the arts, and suggesting practical solutions for improving education and learning, Putting the Arts in the Picture seeks to demonstrate that arts education is an effective strategy for improving education and learning opportunities for children and young people. In cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, and Boston, arts integrated schools are defying educational odds and expectations. Their stories, documented in this volume, show that arts integration can profoundly influence student achievement, and that it is a strategy within the reach of most schools, districts, and communities.
http://www2.colum.edu/center_for_arts_policy/putting_arts_picture.htm