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NYC Arts in Education Roundtable

Arts Are Essential

How does American Rescue Plan Act Academic Recovery Funding Support Arts Education?

4 minutes
Arts Are Essential

Did you know that every K-12 Department of Education public school in New York City has federal money to spend specifically on Arts Education this year? Are your school partners accessing it?

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This money is channeled throughout all levels of government to tackle a wide range of needs arising from the coronavirus pandemic. A large portion of the ARPA money is directed specifically to schools. Schools across the country are required to use the money to respond to students’ academic, social, and emotional needs, and to specifically address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented student subgroups.

According to School Budget Allocation Memo #61, the NYC Department of Education determined that 20% of the federal ARPA government funds that the DOE is devoting specifically to Academic Recovery must be directed towards providing “providing standards-based arts instruction to promote social, emotional and academic support for all students”.

Overall, schools are receiving a minimum of $75,000 and a maximum of $600,000 in ARPA Academic Recovery funding. That means that schools have between $15,000 (20% of $75,000) and $150,000 (20% of $600,000) to spend on arts education funding.

This is a historic investment in arts education –– unseen since before the Great Recession. Specifically, this money can be used for:

  • Professional Learning: Including PD from arts and cultural vendors and per session for arts teachers for professional learning
  • Personnel: Including F-status arts teachers & per session for afterschool and weekend programming
  • Education Services: In-school, afterschool, or weekend arts education services from arts and cultural vendors
  • Supplies and Equipment for arts education 

So, what can you do?

  • Check in with each of your current school partners. Check if they:
    • Know about the ARPA money that is already in their Galaxy account (Schools do not need to do anything extra to access this money, it has already been allocated.)
    • Know that 20% of that is designated to arts education, including partnerships with Arts Education Services from Arts and Culture Vendors
  • Check in with former partner schools, which have fallen out of partnerships in the recent past. Check if they:
    • Know about the ARPA money that is already in their Galaxy account
    • Know that 20% of that is designated to arts education, including partnerships with Arts Education Services from Arts and Culture Vendors
  • Make sure your listing within the Arts & Cultural Education Services (ACES) packet is updated. If you have any questions about the ACES guide or the information listed for your organization, please contact Audrey Cox, Director of Arts Partnerships at DOE’s Office of Arts and Special Projects.
  • Thank your elected officials! When talking with your City Council Member, tell them the impact the allocation of funds to Arts Education is having on the students in their district.
  • Join the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable in advocating for the continued allocation of ARPA funding to arts education.
    • ARPA funding currently has a 3-year lifespan and the 2021-2022 ARPA allocations are in effect through the end of this school year. How the money is allocated for the remaining two years is yet to be confirmed.
    • As arts education practitioners, we know the proven benefits of arts education in the classroom. While this is temporary funding, we believe this funding can be used an on-ramp to create equity in access to arts learning in our schools and prove the importance of dedicated funding for the arts.
    • As a result, the Roundtable will be advocating to keep the 20% allocation to Arts Education for the next two budget cycles!

Ok, great, so the school wants to use their ARPA Arts Education money in partnership with you! (Good choice!) What now?

  • If you are a DOE contractor, and the amount of the Work Order is under $25,000 – you’re golden! Proceed as normal and provide hundreds of students with life-changing experiences!
  • If you are a non-contracted vendor, schools will need 3 bids to partner with you for services between $5K and $25K. After $25K, vendors will need an MTAC (Multiple Task Award Contract) contract to partner with schools.
  • Non-contracted organizations have an overall cap of $25K they can do with a given school. The organization can have individual projects within the school but the projects total cannot exceed $25K (for non-contracted vendors).

Have questions? Need support? First, reach out to your best contact at the school. This may be the school’s Arts Liaison, an Assistant Principal, the Parent-Teacher Coordinator, etc. All are excellent resources and amazing partners in this work.

Still have questions? Please reach out to the Office of Arts and Special Projects and as always the Roundtable is here for you. Don’t hesitate to contact Executive Director, Kimberly Olsen at kolsen@nycaieroundtable.org.

Thank you to the Roundtable’s Advocacy Committee for researching and putting this post together with a special thank you to Katie Palmer!

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