Public education must include the arts which fosters creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and teamwork, skills needed to compete in a twenty-first century workforce. Studies affirm students who participate in the arts “[develop] the ability to innovate, communicate, and collaborate. Arts education in schools increases test scores across every subject area, lowers dropout rates and helps close the achievement gap regardless of socioeconomic status.” (California Alliance for Arts Education)
To ensure all children, regardless of socioeconomic status, receive equitable access to arts education throughout their primary educational career, we will:
- Support efforts to adopt arts education policies and implementation plans in each of the 81 school districts in Los Angeles County
- Endorse legislation and policies that increase revenue for school districts
- Promote the use of Federal Categorical Funds (such as Title I) to employ arts education strategies that reduce the achievement and opportunity gap for low income students
- Advocate for school districts in Los Angeles County to adopt and protect arts as core curriculum
- Establish arts education as a priority in school finance reform
Every child in Los Angeles County should have access to a sequential, standards-based, quality arts education—an arts curriculum that is taught by a qualified teacher, is ongoing and meaningful, and tied to learning in other critical subjects, such as science, math, and English.
In California, education funding decisions are made broadly at the state level and then implemented by school districts at the local level. In many cases, districts must navigate competing internal interests, trends in education, and parent and student needs when crafting a budget. For this reason, all 81 school districts in Los Angeles County take a unique approach to implementing arts education in their schools.
Quick Resources:
- Los Angeles County Arts Education Policy & Plan Inventory: A regularly-updated list of districts with current arts education policies and plans.
- Why Arts Education: One-sheet outlines the importance of arts instruction to a 21st-century education. Available as a PDF in English and Spanish.
- Title 1 & Arts Education: Title 1 funding can be used for arts education. Find out more in this one-sheet, available as a PDF in English and Spanish.
- Arts for All Website: Los Angeles County Arts for All is the county-wide collaboration working to create vibrant classrooms, schools, communities and economies through the restoration of all arts disciplines into the core curriculum for each of our 1.6 million public K-12 students.
