Sociey for Music Teacher Education Daniel Hellman, SMTE Chair
Music Education and the Every Student Succeeds Act Music Education and the Every Student Succeeds Act
(52) 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 education agency, with the purpose of providing all students access to an enriched curriculum and education experience.
With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) last December, well roundedness, as defined in this excerpt, is officially the new educational priority.1 In the previous renewal of the higher education act, No Child Left Behind, the focus was on ensuring that all students made measurable progress in the core subjects that were tested. Now the emphasis is officially on ensuring that all students receive a well-rounded education, leaving the decisions about what subjects constitute an effective education to each state. Notably, this legislation does not regulate at the federal level, which components of a well- rounded education are required, but it does require that all states ensure accessibility, achievement and accountability. This process provides some important opportunities for music education, but this will necessitate some active involvement in
order to make use of this legislation to benefit music education and students in our schools.
1 64 Every Student Succeeds Act, Sect. 8102, p. 404.
Available
http://www2.ed.gov/documents/essa-act- of-1965.pdf
Similar to previous versions of the ESEA, federal funds will be directed to support schools and professional development activities. As part of this process, Title I schools are required to develop reform plans as part of the process for accessing federal funding. Music can be included as part of these reform plans. The experience that music educators bring in working with students and families for multiple years and contributing to the development of the whole child could be very useful for contributing to school plans. ESSA also continues the practice of devoting Title II monies to professional development activities, and the designation of well roundness qualifies the professional development needs of music teachers as an eligible use for funding. Notably, these are not designated specifically for music education but music education can be part of the use of these funds that are allotted to school districts.
The most significant change in ESSA is the development of a new funding source entitled Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (SSAEG). These funds can be used to increase access to a well-rounded education. To qualify for these funds, school districts will need to conduct a needs assessment that addresses support, resources and access to a well-rounded education. This is an important resource that could be tapped to expand music education programs so more students can be involved in them. It could involve expanding access to existing programs or it could involve developing new curriculum. This funding stream was authorized for $1.65 billion when ESEA was passed; however, Congress has still not determined the actual funding to be provided. NAfME has made advocating for the full authorization an important policy objective. While the funding level appears high, this would be distributed across districts throughout the U.S. and support other areas of well roundness as well. If you have not done so already, you are strongly encouraged to contact Congress and request full
MISSOURI SCHOOL MUSIC | Volume 71, Number 2
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