Testimony to the New York City Council
Committees on Education & Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations
Hon. Rita Joseph, Chair // Hon. Carlina Rivera, Chair
Hearing: Joint Oversight Hearing – Ensuring Equity and Access in the Arts
Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Thank you Chair Joseph and Chair Rivera, esteemed Committee Members, and Council staff for your championing of arts education. My name is Kim Olsen, and I am the Executive Director of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable. I’m here as part of the It Starts with the Arts coalition, echoing the urgent need to prioritize transparency in arts education across our city’s schools and communities.

We deeply appreciate the commitment of this Council to ensuring equity and access in the arts, and we want to commend the work of the NYC Public Schools Arts Office for their ongoing initiatives to support arts education across the five boroughs. We also recognize the essential role of the Department of Cultural Affairs in enabling hundreds of organizations to deliver essential arts education services.

However, 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.

For example, the most recent Arts in Schools Report states that 99% of schools offer arts instruction. Yet this statistic doesn’t verify actual access or participation for students. The current reporting methods also lack clarity on how “quality arts education” is defined and measured within our schools. The insufficient transparency also applies to funding allocation and spending, making it unclear how arts education dollars are distributed and utilized at the school level, and how this compares to recommended per capita allocations.

Furthermore, the lack of transparency extends to the partnerships between schools and cultural organizations. While over 700 arts organizations partnered with schools last year, delays in award letters, contract processing, and payments significantly hinder the good work happening. Organizations are waiting years for MTAC contract approvals, leading to lost educational opportunities for students and financial hardship for both organizations and the thousands of dedicated Teaching Artists who rely on this income to live and work in NYC. Even the months-long delay of CDF award letters can have a devastating impact when you are living paycheck to paycheck like many in the Teaching Artist community. Additionally, the Arts and Cultural Education Services Guide, a tool intended to connect schools with arts organizations, has reportedly not been maintained or updated in years, limiting its effectiveness in showcasing available cultural resources to schools.

The reality is this: what gets measured gets done. We need a clear, comprehensive, and publicly accessible understanding of the current state of arts education in every school and a cross-agency plan to move towards universal access – including data on access across all art forms, student participation rates, the number of certified arts teachers and cultural partners, the resources being allocated at the individual school level, alongside clear benchmarks for goal-setting and measuring success. Without this, it is impossible to effectively identify and address existing inequities and ensure that resources are targeted where they are needed most.

Let us move beyond broad statistics and reports to gain a clear understanding of the challenges and the successes in arts education across our diverse school system and community. By prioritizing data transparency and investment in the arts, we can truly begin to build a stronger, more creative, and more equitable future for all NYC students. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Kimberly Olsen
Executive Director
NYC Arts in Education Roundtable