NAMM Applauds the Passage of “Every Student Succeeds Act” Including Music as Part of a Well-Rounded Education

More school-aged children nationwide will have access to music and the arts, thanks to the inclusion of both subject areas as part of a well-rounded education in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The bill passed the Senate on with a vote of 85 to 12 and was signed by the President on December 10, 2015.

In addition to explicitly listing music in the components of a well-rounded education, “Every Student Succeeds Act” also protects students’ “music” and “arts” class time and provides new opportunities for music and arts education through formula funding grants. The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), hundreds of NAMM Members and music industry leaders have spent years meeting with Congressional leaders on the importance that every child has access to music in schools. Today Congress has shown that it too believes in music as part of a well-rounded education that should be available to all students.

“We are grateful for the army of NAMM member advocates who have contributed to thousands of meetings with Members of Congress over the years. They successfully drove the point home that music education is a vital element in a complete education for all children,” said Mary Luehrsen, director of government affairs for NAMM. “With this new legislation, we will expand our advocacy efforts around the belief that indeed, “every child succeeds” with an opportunity to learn and grow with music.”

NAMM specifically commends members of the ESEA conference committee, members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and the President for advancing legislation that will create new opportunities for a well-rounded education for all students. The reauthorization of the "Every Student Succeeds Act,” will replace 2002’s “No Child Left Behind Act.”

The new bill’s inclusion of “music” and “arts” in the definition of a “Well-Rounded Education” marks an unprecedented step forward for music education, as it connects to a variety of significant other provisions in “Every Student Succeeds Act.”

Protecting Students’ Class Time: protection for students struggling in other academic areas from being pulled from music and arts courses in favor of remedial education. The bill emphasizes the importance of classroom time within these courses, helping to ensure that students are provided with an equally meaningful learning opportunity.

Federal Grant Opportunities: opportunities for music and arts education through formula funding grants in Title IV. States receiving formula grants must use those funds for purposes of carrying out particular state activities, including offering “Well-Rounded” educational experiences, such as music, to under-represented, disadvantaged, or minority students. The bill specifically notes activities and programs in “music” and “arts” as appropriate uses of formula grants.

For the last decade, NAMM members have invested their time on Capitol Hill with U.S. Senators and Representatives to advocate for music education. As the bill began to work through both houses of Congress, NAMM mobilized its membership and the SupportMusic Coalition to call, tweet and write to their legislators, supporting music education’s inclusion in passage of the final version.

NAMM will continue to work to monitor and advocate for equity and access to music education as the new federal policy is implemented. Please follow /public-affairs/articles/track-esea-reauthorization-bill for the latest.