H.R. 2485

119 HR 2485 IH: Arts Education for All Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-03-31
 text/xml
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 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 2485  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   March 31, 2025   Ms. Bonamici  (for herself,  Mr. Bacon ,  Ms. Pingree ,  Ms. Leger Fernandez ,  Ms. Norton ,  Mr. Johnson of Georgia ,  Ms. Randall ,  Ms. Stansbury , and  Ms. Tlaib ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Education and Workforce    A BILL
To expand arts education, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Arts Education for All Act  .
I
Early Childhood Education Programs
101.
Early childhood education programs
The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq. ) is amended—
(1)
in section 658G(b)(1), by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:
(A)
offering training, coaching, or professional development opportunities for child care providers that relate to the use of evidence-based, developmentally appropriate and age-appropriate strategies to promote the social, emotional, physical, adaptive, communication, and cognitive development of children, including key programmatic strategies, and offering specialized training for child care providers caring for those populations prioritized in section 658E(c)(2)(Q), and children with disabilities;
 ; and
(2)
in section 658P, by adding at the end the following:
(16)
Key programmatic strategies
The term  key programmatic strategies  means strategies related to—
(A)
nutrition and physical activity;
(B)
recommended practices for age-appropriate exposure to screen media; and
(C)
the integration and utilization of instructional methods to assist learning across disciplines, including methods that use the arts, language, literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies.
 .
II
Amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
201.
References
 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq. ).
202.
State and local plans
(a)
Section 1111(g) ( 20 U.S.C. 6311(g) ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(5)
Use of arts education to improve student achievement
Each State’s plan shall describe how the State educational agency will—
(A)
support and encourage the offering of a variety of arts education experiences to students as part of the State educational agency’s overall strategy to improve student achievement in the subjects described in section 8101(52);
(B)
integrate arts education instruction into the curriculum;
(C)
increase the number of arts educators, including arts education specialists, in schools;
(D)
utilize partnerships with specialized teaching artists to train teachers to augment creative thinking techniques into the instruction provided in math, reading, English language arts, science, and other subjects described in section 8101(52);
(E)
ensure that arts instruction provided in the State is standards-based, as applicable, and sequential with arts courses offered in the grades 6 through 12 building upon such courses offered in earlier grades;
(F)
increase the number of classes taught by arts educators, including arts education specialists, with a particular focus on classes with high percentages of students who are low-income, students with disabilities, English learners, or students of color; and
(G)
support partnerships that increase the amount of arts education and creative youth development available in afterschool and summer learning programs.
 .
(b)
Section 1112(b) ( 20 U.S.C. 6312(b) ) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (12), by striking  and  at the end;
(2)
by redesignating paragraph (13) as paragraph (14); and
(3)
by inserting after paragraph (12) the following:
(13)
how the local educational agency will support learning in the arts and encourage the use of the arts education to improve student achievement consistent with section 1111(g)(5); and
 .
203.
Report cards
Section 1111(h)(1)(C) ( 20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(1)(C) ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating clause (xiv) as (xv); and
(2)
by inserting after clause (xiii) the following:
(xiv)
Information on arts courses, including—
(I)
the number of, range, and sequence of course offerings;
(II)
the average pupil-to-teacher ratio in such courses;
(III)
the average amount of instructional time in such courses; and
(IV)
for each semester, the percentage (in the aggregate and dis­ag­gre­gated by high-poverty compared to low-poverty schools, which for the purpose of this subclause, means schools in the top quartile of poverty and the bottom quartile of poverty in the State) of—
(aa)
schools offering arts courses;
(bb)
students taking arts courses; and
(cc)
arts courses taught by arts teachers with full State certification or licensure.
 .
204.
School improvement
Section 1111(d)(2)(B) ( 20 U.S.C. 6311(d)(2)(B) ) is amended—
(1)
in clause (iv), by striking  ; and  and inserting a semicolon;
(2)
by redesignating clause (v) as clause (vi); and
(3)
by inserting after clause (iv) the following:
(v)
(I)
provides for an evaluation of the arts courses offered at such school during the school day and the certification, training and skills of staff that are teaching such courses including teaching artists; and
(II)
based on such evaluation, incorporate the offering of arts courses into the offerings of such school; and
 .
205.
Arts for neglected and delinquent children and youth
Section 1415(a)(2)(B)(ii) ( 20 U.S.C. 6435(a)(2)(B)(ii) ) is amended by inserting  access to the arts and arts education and  after  improving .
206.
Subgrants to local educational agencies
(a)
Local uses of funds
Section 2103(b)(3) ( 20 U.S.C. 6613(b)(3) ) is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (O), by striking  ; and  and inserting a semicolon;
(2)
by redesignating subparagraph (P) as subparagraph (Q); and
(3)
by inserting after subparagraph (O) the following:
(P)
carrying out activities to increase pathways to obtain rigorous, high-quality teacher certification or licensure for individuals seeking to become teachers of the arts; and
 .
(b)
Professional development for arts teachers
Section 2103 ( 20 U.S.C. 6613 ) is further amended by inserting at the end the following:
(c)
Professional development for arts teachers
In carrying out the programs and activities described under subsection (a), a local educational agency shall provide professional development for teachers of the arts, as appropriate, to fulfill the needs of such agency and the schools of such agency.
(d)
Professional development for integration of the arts
In carrying out the programs and activities described under subsection (a), a local educational agency shall provide professional development for teachers to integrate the arts into their instruction in math, reading, English language arts, science, and other subjects described in section 8101(52).
 .
207.
21st century community learning centers
(a)
Arts organizations
Section 4205(a) ( 20 U.S.C. 7175(a) ) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (13), by striking  ; and ;
(2)
in paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end and inserting  ; and ; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:
(15)
partnering with, integrating the services of, and utilizing the services and offerings provided by arts services organizations or other community-focused arts nonprofits and organizations that further creative youth development.
 .
(b)
Professional development
Section 4203(a)(6) ( 20 U.S.C. 7173(a)(6) ) is amended by inserting  , including arts education  after  areas .
III
Amendments to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 and to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
301.
Amendments to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974
Section 223(a) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 ( 42 U.S.C. 5633(a) ) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (32) by striking  and  at the end,
(2)
in paragraph (33) by striking the period at the end and inserting  ; and , and
(3)
 by adding at the end the following:
(34)
describe how the State will coordinate services, activities for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention with State and local agencies and organizations, including State and local arts agencies, arts organizations, and organizations that further creative youth development.
 .
302.
Amendments to adult and juvenile offender demonstration projects and the State, tribal and local reentry courts programs
The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended in section 2976(b)(4)—
(1)
by striking  ; and  in subparagraph (A);
(2)
after subparagraph (A), by inserting the following:
(B)
use arts education programs and services to better facilitate reentry and reduce recidivism and connect offenders to educational opportunities and employment after reentry into the community; and
 ; and
(3)
by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C).
IV
Amendments to the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 and the National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act
401.
Arts research
Section 133 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 ( 20 U.S.C. 9533 ) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
by striking  ; and  at the end of subparagraph (10)(D);
(B)
by redesignating subparagraph (11) as subparagraph (12); and
(C)
by inserting after paragraph (10) the following:
(11)
carry out research on the use of the arts and arts education that is rigorous, peer reviewed and large scale to determine which methods and uses of the arts and arts education are most effective, cost efficient and able to be applied, duplicated, and scaled up for the use in elementary and secondary classrooms, including in low-performing schools; and
 ; and
(2)
in subsection (c)(2), by adding at the end the following:
(L)
Use of the arts and arts education in improving elementary and secondary education.
 .
402.
Arts statistical data
Section 153(a)(1) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 ( 20 U.S.C. 9543(a)(1) ) is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (N), by striking  ; and  and inserting a semicolon;
(2)
by redesignating subparagraph (O) as subparagraph (P); and
(3)
by inserting after subparagraph (N), the following:
(O)
access to, the integration of and the inclusion of arts education; and
 .
403.
National assessment of educational progress
Section 303(b) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act ( 20 U.S.C. 9622(b) ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(7)
Arts assessment
The Assessment Board shall select the arts as a subject to be assessed under this subsection, at the same frequency and in the same grades (at a minimum) as such assessment was scheduled prior to July 24, 2021.
 .