What This Bill Does
This bill changes federal education law to require schools to teach sequential, standards-based arts and music education. Schools must teach these programs school-wide and through targeted assistance programs using certified educators.
Who It Affects
Schools receiving federal education funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. State education agencies that define what "certified arts educators" and "certified music educators" means.
Key Provisions
* Schools must offer sequential, standards-based arts education taught by certified arts educators and community arts providers to meet challenging state academic standards (Sec. 2)
* Arts means dance, media arts, theater, and visual arts (Sec. 2)
* Schools must offer sequential, standards-based music education aligned to challenging state academic standards and taught by certified music educators (Sec. 3)
* Schools receiving targeted assistance funds must provide programmatic assistance for students to participate in arts programs that address their academic needs, including support for certified arts educators, professional development, and supplies (Sec. 4)
* Schools receiving targeted assistance funds must provide programmatic assistance for students to participate in music programs that address their academic needs, including support for certified music educators, professional development, instruments, sheet music, and music technology (Sec. 5)
What Changes
Federal law will require schools to include arts and music education as part of their school-wide educational programs and targeted assistance programs if they receive federal education funding.
Important Definitions
Arts means dance, media arts, theater, and visual arts (Sec. 2 and Sec. 4).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 969
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. TONKO, Mr.
BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. LEE of
California, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. ROSS, Ms. OCASIO-COR-
TEZ, Mr. KEATING, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr.
GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. CICILLINE) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce
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’’.
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•HR 969 IH
SEC. 2. SCHOOL-WIDE ACCESS TO ARTS EDUCATION.
1
Section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
2
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314) is amended—
3
(1) in subsection (b)(7)(A)(iii)—
4
(A) in subclauses (IV) and (V), by striking
5
‘‘; and’’ and inserting a semicolon; and
6
(B) by adding at the end the following:
7
‘‘(VI) sequential, standards-based
8
arts education taught by certified arts
9
educators (as defined by the State)
10
and community arts providers to meet
11
the challenging State academic stand-
12
ards; and’’; and
13
(2) by adding at the end the following:
14
‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF ARTS.—For purposes of sub-
15
section (b)(7)(A)(iii)(VI), the term ‘arts’ means dance,
16
media arts, theater, and visual arts.’’.
17
SEC. 3. SCHOOL-WIDE ACCESS TO MUSIC EDUCATION.
18
Section 1114(b)(7)(A)(iii) of the Elementary and
19
Secondary
Education
Act
of
1965
(20
U.S.C.
20
6314(b)(7)(A)(iii)), as amended by section (2), is further
21
amended by inserting after subclause (VI) the following:
22
‘‘(VII)
sequential,
standards-
23
based music education that is aligned
24
to challenging State academic stand-
25
ards and is taught by certified music
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•HR 969 IH
educators (as defined by the State);
1
and’’.
2
SEC. 4. TARGETED ASSISTANCE SCHOOLS FOR ARTS EDU-
3
CATION.
4
Section 1115 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
5
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6315) is amended—
6
(1) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘well-
7
rounded education;’’ inserting the following: ‘‘well
8
rounded education, such as—
9
‘‘(i) programmatic assistance for stu-
10
dents to participate in arts programs that
11
address their academic needs (including
12
support for certified arts educators (as de-
13
fined by the State), arts educator profes-
14
sional development, supplies, and other ex-
15
penses associated with instruction in the
16
arts); and’’; and
17
(2) by adding at the end the following:
18
‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF ARTS.—For purposes of sub-
19
section (b)(2)(A)(i), the term ‘arts’ means dance, media
20
arts, theater, and visual arts.’’.
21
SEC. 5. TARGETED ASSISTANCE SCHOOLS FOR MUSIC EDU-
22
CATION.
23
Section 1115(b)(2)(A) of the Elementary and Sec-
24
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6315(b)(2)(A)),
25
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•HR 969 IH
as amended by section 4, is further amended by adding
1
at the end the following:
2
‘‘(ii) programmatic assistance for stu-
3
dents to participate in music programs
4
that address their academic needs (includ-
5
ing support for certified music educators,
6
music educator professional development,
7
instruments, sheet music, music tech-
8
nology, and other expenses associated with
9
music instruction);’’.
10
Æ
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