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NYC Arts in Education Roundtable

NYC Electeds, Advocates Call for Greater Transparency in Arts Funding

PRESS RELEASE
FOR PLANNING PURPOSES: April 8th, 2024

Group urges Council leadership to improve arts education data transparency so all students can more equitably access and participate in quality arts instruction — especially as Trump admin threatens to disrupt access for students who rely on public funding most

NEW YORK, NY — Today, the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable rallied outside City Hall with Council Members Carlina Rivera, Rita Joseph, Keith Powers, Eric Dinowitz, Mercedes Narcisse, educators and advocates to urge the Council to prioritize greater transparency around arts education funding and how student access and participation are measured across schools. The rally was held before the Council’s Joint Oversight Hearing on Ensuring Equity and Access in the Arts, where advocates highlighted how continued reliance on outdated reporting and data is making it harder for schools and cultural organizations to effectively provide public arts education opportunities to communities who need them most.

Watch a recording of the event here.

View images from the event here.

“Arts education is essential to every student’s success, and the Roundtable is proud to have the Council’s support in ensuring all students have access to the arts. But right now, our ability to provide arts education — especially to students who need it most — is held back by a lack of transparent data and outdated reporting requirements that fail to identify where public support is needed most. We’re thankful the Council is working to address this issue, and urge city lawmakers to prioritize efforts to improve our understanding of arts education in our public schools so that every student can have access to the arts education they deserve,” said Kimberly Olsen, Executive Director of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable.

Between 2020 and 2023, public schools across the city lost 425 full-time certified arts teachers and currently, at least 290 NYC public schools lack a single certified arts teacher. The most recent Arts in Schools Report claims that 99% of schools provided arts instruction to their students in any grade — but without accurate data and greater transparency in reporting, the city cannot verify whether this reflects students’ true access or participation. Only with better transparency and more data will students from underfunded schools, who rely on city funding for arts education most, get the resources they need.

Following the rally, Olsen will testify at the Council’s joint hearing on Ensuring Equity and Access in the Arts. In her written testimony, Olsen states, “New York City cannot ensure equitable access, meaningful participation, or quality arts instruction for all students without greater transparency in how arts funding is spent and how student engagement is measured. Currently, our understanding is impeded by a reliance on broad reporting that doesn’t always reflect the reality on the ground.” Read the full testimony here and attached.

In February, the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable joined with students and educators to relaunch “It Starts with the Arts,” a campaign urging the Mayor and City Council to support arts education funding and improve transparency about access to arts instruction and how city schools are spending the money. As part of the campaign, the Roundtable is urging the Council to improve arts education data transparency by compelling NYC public schools to provide a school-by-school breakdown of the state of arts education, via a Hearing, Legislative Services Request, Term & Condition, and/or Oversight Hearing. Read more here.

“Arts education shapes students into well-rounded young New Yorkers and sets them up for success in school, work, and their personal lives. It enhances academic outcomes, fosters creativity, and builds the social-emotional skills that students need to thrive in school, work, and life. These programs are especially important for students from underserved communities, and every single student in New York City, regardless of their background, deserves access to the immense benefits of arts education,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera, Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries.

“Arts education is crucial for every student, and the Council has worked hard to extend arts instruction so that every student has the access they deserve. But we’re still not there, and by not knowing where needs still exist, we risk leaving entire communities behind. It’s time for the city to finish the job and ensure every student at every school has arts education opportunities — and that starts with greater transparency in understanding our arts ecosystem,” said Councilmember Gale Brewer.

“Equity and access in the arts is not a luxury — it’s a necessity. We must continue our investments to ensure that families across all five boroughs, especially those in historically underserved communities, have the opportunity to experience, create, and be inspired by the arts,” said New York City Council Member Althea Stevens, Chair of the Committee on Children & Youth. “When we fund the arts, we are not just enriching culture — we are strengthening the fabric of our communities, creating safe spaces for expression, and building pathways for our youth to dream bigger. This is how we advance equity, and this is how we empower the future of New York City.”

“For us arts education is about supporting young people to build important skills that will help them succeed in life.  Our programs help them problem-solve, learn to work as part of a team, develop and articulate their own ideas, think critically and consider the perspectives of others.  Many thanks to the City Council for the work that has been done so far to ensure as many young people as possible have the arts in their education.  The Support for Arts Instruction Initiative has allowed many organizations like ArtsConnection to bring arts programming to schools that otherwise would not have it,” said Rachel Watts, Executive Director, ArtsConnection.

“Arts education isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity for developing the whole child. Midori & Friends’ commitment to arts equity today shapes the innovative problem-solvers and empathetic leaders of tomorrow and ripples through communities, economies, and generations,” said Larisa Gelman, Executive Director at Midori & Friends.

“Art, Music, Theatre, Dance form the rainbow tapestry of New York Life, but without the funds and policies of an empathetic city government, the cultural fabric will fray and fail and the kaleidoscope will shatter. Without the artists, without the teaching artists and arts educators,  the culture crumbles, and the city – its economy, its teeming humanity, its vibrancy – decays.. Please, New York, keep the lights on and the music playing…now more urgently than ever!” said Lori Orestano-James, State President, New York State Alliance for Arts Education.

Background

In addition to improving data transparency and requiring school-based arts reporting and goal-setting, the It Starts with the Arts campaign is calling on the city to:

  • Extend and baseline at-risk arts education funding ($41M): Following one-year funding to off-set expiring temporary federal stimulus dollars and city funds, arts education programs are once again at-risk of being eliminated. We stand with the Coalition of Equitable Education Funding and call on the city to shift from a one-year restoration to an annual allocation to sustain arts education and other programs currently on the chopping block.
  • 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.  

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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