In the United States today, standards for arts education are lacking in many states and are impacting the quality of education for students across the nation. The arts are now seen as an elective rather than a core subject and are being neglected in comparison to other subjects. The number of students being exposed to the arts in school is dropping, especially in areas with high percentages of minorities (Robelen). With proof from studies showing the benefits of an arts education, policies need to be implemented to allow all students in the United States to experience a proper education in the arts. This can be done by combining the work of the federal government and state governments to define the arts as a core subject in curricula in America.
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Seventeen states require schools to have art education to be accredited. Twenty states "provide funding for arts education grant programs or state-funded school for the arts" (State Education Reforms). Because of this, many students are not being exposed to the arts in school. In low income areas and cities with high percentages of minorities, this problem is even more dramatic with research showing "fewer 18-year-olds surveyed in 2008 reported having received any arts education in childhood than did those surveyed in 1982, dropping from about 65 percent to 50 percent" (Robelen). In many states, it has also been difficult for students to have access to music programs in their schools. A survey in Philadelphia showed that only fifty-eight percent of students have access to both music and art programs in schools (Dobrin). According to a 2014 Georgia Budget and Policy Institute study, "Sixty-six school districts cut or eliminated fine arts and music programs since 2009... two-thirds of those districts did not restore them" …show more content…
Due to the limitations on the scope of the federal government's power over education based on the tenth amendment, other methods must be used in order to pass legislation. The best option to solving this issue is the use of cooperative federalism, as it allows local governments, state governments, and the federal government to work together in order to come to an agreement. The federal government could use cooperative federalism by implementing the policy similar to the one above, where the U.S. Department of Education partners with arts education groups to come to a collective agreement of requirements for art education, in which the arts are deemed a core or academic subject. States that do not wish to follow these requirements would risk funding from the federal government. This situation puts pressure on schools to keep students actively engaged in the arts and keep the classes up to a good standard. The U.S. Department of Education could ask for statistics from the participating schools to make sure the students are excelling and that the teachers are properly qualified, as done for the No Child Left Behind act
Seventeen states require schools to have art education to be accredited. Twenty states "provide funding for arts education grant programs or state-funded school for the arts" (State Education Reforms). Because of this, many students are not being exposed to the arts in school. In low income areas and cities with high percentages of minorities, this problem is even more dramatic with research showing "fewer 18-year-olds surveyed in 2008 reported having received any arts education in childhood than did those surveyed in 1982, dropping from about 65 percent to 50 percent" (Robelen). In many states, it has also been difficult for students to have access to music programs in their schools. A survey in Philadelphia showed that only fifty-eight percent of students have access to both music and art programs in schools (Dobrin). According to a 2014 Georgia Budget and Policy Institute study, "Sixty-six school districts cut or eliminated fine arts and music programs since 2009... two-thirds of those districts did not restore them" …show more content…
Due to the limitations on the scope of the federal government's power over education based on the tenth amendment, other methods must be used in order to pass legislation. The best option to solving this issue is the use of cooperative federalism, as it allows local governments, state governments, and the federal government to work together in order to come to an agreement. The federal government could use cooperative federalism by implementing the policy similar to the one above, where the U.S. Department of Education partners with arts education groups to come to a collective agreement of requirements for art education, in which the arts are deemed a core or academic subject. States that do not wish to follow these requirements would risk funding from the federal government. This situation puts pressure on schools to keep students actively engaged in the arts and keep the classes up to a good standard. The U.S. Department of Education could ask for statistics from the participating schools to make sure the students are excelling and that the teachers are properly qualified, as done for the No Child Left Behind act