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NYC Arts in Education Roundtable

NYC Arts in Education Roundtable Rallies with Council Members, Teachers & Advocates To Celebrate Investment in Arts Education

Historic $41 million investment in arts education will support hundreds of thousands of students across NYC who rely on public funding for access to the arts

NEW YORK, NY — Today, the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable joined with Council Members Keith Powers, Eric Dinowitz, and Chris Marte, 2025 Tony Award-winner and Brooklyn teacher Gary Edwin Robinson, educators, artists, and students to celebrate $41 million for arts education that was restored and baselined in the Mayor’s FY2026 city budget. The historic investment will help level the playing field for NYC Public School students who lack sufficient arts instruction, and provide continuous arts opportunities to students who rely on public arts instruction most.

Watch a recording of the event here.

View images of the event here. 

“Arts education is essential to every student’s growth both in and out of the classroom, but for far too long, access to the arts has been out of reach for thousands of our public school students. This historic investment from the Mayor and City Council is a major victory for our students and gets us one step closer to ensuring every child gets the education they deserve. We’re incredibly grateful to our elected officials for proudly investing in our students’ futures, and look forward to working with them to protect and expand the arts for all New Yorkers,” said Kimberly Olsen, Executive Director of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable.

Earlier this year, the Roundtable re-launched the “It Starts with the Arts” campaign for the fourth year to urge the Mayor and City Council to support arts education funding and expand arts access for all students. The Roundtable was proud to work alongside Mayor Adams and the City Council last year to protect $41 million in expiring COVID-era funding for arts education, and has since advocated for City leaders to continue their support for the arts by baselining funding for arts education programming in this year’s budget. Read more here.

“The importance of arts in our schools can never be overlooked,” said City Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan. “Arts education unlocks opportunities, and all kids across our city deserve a chance to have them. The Council was proud to protect funding for arts education in last year’s budget, and I’m proud to have led the charge to secure $41 million in additional, permanent funding for world class arts programming in our schools that will help expand arts opportunities to all students.”

“Art is not a luxury, it is a necessity. It is a fundamental part of the education of our students. Investing in arts education means investing in the hands that will create the future of this city,” said Stephanie Pacheco, 2024 National Youth Poet Laureate and NYC public school graduate. 

Background

In addition to extending and baselining the $41 million investment in arts education, the It Starts with the Arts campaign is calling on the city to:

  • Require DOE arts funding be spent on the arts ($12.5M): Boost the per student arts allocation to $100 from $86.67 and require that money be spent on arts education. 
  • Ensure Every School Has a Certified Arts Teachers ($30.5M): Ensure that all schools have at least one certified arts teacher, closing the equity gap for at least 290 schools. This can be done in part by bolstering the pipeline of certified arts teachers via supplemental certification program ($4M) or funding a PE Works-inspired improvement plan. 
  • Restore and Enhance “Support for Arts Instruction” initiative funding ($6M): Build on city’s down payment and boost allocation from $4M to $6M to meet city-wide demand. 
  • Center Arts and Culture in Youth Development Programs ($5M): Allocate funds to better support arts and cultural education opportunities during Summer Rising 2025 and other DYCD programs to support public safety and continued community-building opportunities via the arts. 
  • Restore and Increase Baseline Funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs
  • Require more school-based arts reporting and goal-setting: Restore the inclusion of arts programs in all School Quality Snapshots and require arts education to be included in each District Education Plan and each school’s Comprehensive Education Plan.  
  • Improve data transparency in arts education reporting: Include a Term & Condition to require NYC Public Schools to provide a school-by-school breakdown of the state of arts education via a Hearing, Legislative Services Request, T&C, and/or Oversight Hearing.

About NYC Arts in Education Roundtable:

The New York City Arts in Education Roundtable is a service organization working to improve and advance arts education. The Roundtable is a community of arts education practitioners dedicated to sharing information, providing professional development, and communicating with the public to promote our work in schools and beyond.

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