What This Bill Does
This bill changes federal education law to require schools to offer arts and music education programs to their students. The bill modifies the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to expand which educational subjects schools must include when creating well-rounded education plans.
Who It Affects
Schools receiving federal education funding are directly affected. Students in these schools may be impacted by changes to available arts and music programs. State education agencies will define what qualifies as certified arts and music educators.
Key Provisions
• Schools must offer sequential, standards-based arts education taught by certified arts educators and community arts providers to meet state academic standards (Sec. 2)
• Schools must offer sequential, standards-based music education aligned to state academic standards and taught by certified music educators (Sec. 3)
• The bill defines "arts" to include dance, media arts, theater and visual arts (Sec. 2)
• Schools identified for targeted assistance must provide programmatic assistance for students to participate in arts programs that address academic needs, including support for certified arts educators, professional development and supplies (Sec. 4)
• Schools identified for targeted assistance must provide programmatic assistance for students to participate in music programs that address academic needs, including support for certified music educators, professional development, instruments and sheet music (Sec. 5)
What Changes
Schools will be required to include arts and music education as part of their well-rounded education programs. Schools needing targeted assistance will need to offer arts and music programs as ways to help students meet academic goals.
Important Definitions
Arts means dance, media arts, theater and visual arts (Sec. 2). States define what qualifies as a certified arts educator and certified music educator.
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 364
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to expand
access to school-wide arts and music programs, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. TESTER,
and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 to expand access to school-wide arts and music
programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guarantee Access to
4
Arts and Music Education Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘GAAME
5
Act of 2023’’.
6
SEC. 2. SCHOOL-WIDE ACCESS TO ARTS EDUCATION.
7
Section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
8
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314) is amended—
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•S 364 IS
(1) in subsection (b)(7)(A)(iii)—
1
(A) in subclauses (IV) and (V), by striking
2
‘‘; and’’ and inserting a semicolon; and
3
(B) by adding at the end the following:
4
‘‘(VI) sequential, standards-based
5
arts education taught by certified arts
6
educators (as defined by the State)
7
and community arts providers to meet
8
the challenging State academic stand-
9
ards; and’’; and
10
(2) by adding at the end the following:
11
‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF ARTS.—For purposes of sub-
12
section (b)(7)(A)(iii)(VI), the term ‘arts’ means dance,
13
media arts, theater, and visual arts.’’.
14
SEC. 3. SCHOOL-WIDE ACCESS TO MUSIC EDUCATION.
15
Section 1114(b)(7)(A)(iii) of the Elementary and
16
Secondary
Education
Act
of
1965
(20
U.S.C.
17
6314(b)(7)(A)(iii)), as amended by section (2), is further
18
amended by inserting after subclause (VI) the following:
19
‘‘(VII)
sequential,
standards-
20
based music education that is aligned
21
to challenging State academic stand-
22
ards and is taught by certified music
23
educators (as defined by the State);
24
and’’.
25
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•S 364 IS
SEC. 4. TARGETED ASSISTANCE SCHOOLS FOR ARTS EDU-
1
CATION.
2
Section 1115 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
3
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6315) is amended—
4
(1) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘well-
5
rounded education;’’ inserting the following: ‘‘well
6
rounded education, such as—
7
‘‘(i) programmatic assistance for stu-
8
dents to participate in arts programs that
9
address their academic needs (including
10
support for certified arts educators (as de-
11
fined by the State), arts educator profes-
12
sional development, supplies, and other ex-
13
penses associated with instruction in the
14
arts); and’’; and
15
(2) by adding at the end the following:
16
‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF ARTS.—For purposes of sub-
17
section (b)(2)(A)(i), the term ‘arts’ means dance, media
18
arts, theater, and visual arts.’’.
19
SEC. 5. TARGETED ASSISTANCE SCHOOLS FOR MUSIC EDU-
20
CATION.
21
Section 1115(b)(2)(A) of the Elementary and Sec-
22
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6315(b)(2)(A)),
23
as amended by section 4, is further amended by adding
24
at the end the following:
25
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•S 364 IS
‘‘(ii) programmatic assistance for stu-
1
dents to participate in music programs
2
that address their academic needs (includ-
3
ing support for certified music educators,
4
music educator professional development,
5
instruments, sheet music, music tech-
6
nology, and other expenses associated with
7
music instruction);’’.
8
Æ
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