Letter urging funding for arts education in NYC

REPORT

Mayor Adams
Office of the Mayor
253 Broadway
New York, NY 10007

Chancellor Banks
NYC Department of Education Chancellor’s Office
52 Chambers St.
New York, NY 10007 

RE: Support and Funding for Arts Education in New York City Public Schools

Dear Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks:

We are writing on behalf of the Education and the Law Committee and the Children and the Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association concerning the importance of supporting arts education in public schools and ensuring equitable access to arts education for all New York City students in public schools.

Arts education is part of a well-rounded education for every student, as outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. §6301 (2015). Pursuant to the New York State Education Department’s Instructional Requirements for the Arts (“state standards”), public school students have the right to arts education through sequential instruction that includes dance, music, theater, and visual arts taught by certified arts teachers, in partnership with community providers from arts and cultural organizations, in accordance with state standards.[1]

Arts education provides important benefits, including support for social and emotional development and wellness to promote mental health, critical foundational skills to bolster academic outcomes in the classroom, and preparation for employment in the arts, a sector representing 13% of NYC’s total economic output and employing over 293,000 New Yorkers. In addition, arts education increases parent involvement and improves attendance rates. Through engagement in the arts, students learn valuable life skills – such as empathy, problem solving, perseverance, focus, and collaboration – to help them reach their full potential.[2] Notably, arts education has been recognized as a key to re-igniting learning after the devasting effects of the COVID pandemic and, in particular, the trauma and mental health issues students continue to suffer stemming from the pandemic. The role that arts education provides in pandemic recovery includes facilitating emotional well-being, fostering resiliency, and helping students reconnect with teachers and friends. The social and emotional benefits of arts education at this time of student recovery from the pandemic are more important than ever. [3]

Despite these benefits, many NYC public schools fail to provide arts education that meets state standards, leaving students without access to this critical component of education. Based on the latest publicly available data, only one-third of NYC middle schools meet state standards for arts education; 17% of NYC public schools lack any certified arts teachers, and almost 30% of schools no longer partner with any arts or cultural organization.[4] Lack of access to arts education disproportionately impacts schools that predominantly serve low-income, African-American and Hispanic/Latinx students.[5]  Further, access to arts education in NYC public schools is limited by funding issues. The discretionary nature of funding for arts education and the tendency in times of budget constraints to deprioritize arts education as unnecessary and favor allocating limited funds to subjects with test-based accountability are key reasons why arts education is often one of the first items cut from school budgets.[6]  

We urge the city to prioritize ensuring universal equitable access to arts education for NYC public school students in accordance with applicable law and regulations. To this end, we make the following recommendations to the Mayor’s office and the New York City Department of Education:

1. Act promptly to ensure that arts education aligned with state standards is provided in all NYC public schools and to address equity and compliance gaps.
2. Ensure that all public schools have sufficient and appropriate staffing, including at least one certified arts teacher, to provide arts education to all students.
3. Provide increased funding for arts education to ensure sufficient sustainable funding for all public schools.
4. Require that DOE arts funding be spent on arts education.
5. Increase arts career preparation by including more arts education in career and technical education programs and summer programs.

We recognize that there are competing demands on the NYC public school system – by far, the largest public school system in the U.S. – to provide for the educational, vocational, social, emotional, health, and safety needs of the city’s 1.1 million public school students. However, we respectfully submit that, as recognized by state and federal law and regulations, arts education is a critical component of elementary and secondary school education, promoting academic achievement, social engagement, concentration, confidence, and physical and mental health. For the reasons herein, we urge City leaders to prioritize and fund arts education in the NYC public schools.

We would welcome an opportunity to meet with you to discuss these issues further and to provide assistance in whatever way might be helpful. Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Rebecca Berkebile, Co-Chair
Education and the Law Committee

Jonathan D. Glater, Co-Chair
Education and the Law Committee

Christina Rich, Co-Chair
Children and the Law Committee

Rachel Stanton, Co-Chair
Children and the Law Committee

Cc:

Hon. Adrienne Adams, Speaker, New York City Council
Hon. Justin Brannan, Chair, Finance Committee, New York City Council
Hon. Rita Joseph, Chair, Education Committee, New York City Council