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NYC Arts in Education Roundtable

Written Testimonial Letter to the New York City Council Committee on Finance – March 5, 2025

Written Testimonial Letter to the New York City Council Committee on Finance 
Hon. Justin Brannan, Chair
Hearing: Preliminary Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2026
Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Thank you to Chair Brannan and the City Council for your commitment to New Yorkers and support of arts, culture, and arts education across New York City.

My name is Kimberly Olsen, and I am proud to be the Executive Director of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable. We are a nonprofit service organization working to improve and advance arts education across NYC. I’m testifying as part of the It Starts with the Arts coalition and Coalition for Equitable Education Funding — calling on our city to prioritize funding for arts education in NYC schools and communities.

Engagement in the arts provides students with an avenue for learning, social, and career development that is not measured by standardized tests. Instead, the arts create a safe environment for students to learn essential life skills to help them reach their full potential. These skills are more important now than ever, as our students navigate a complex and ever-changing world.

The past few years have underscored the profound need for spaces where young people can process their experiences, think critically about the world around them, and build resilience. Arts learning opportunities provide precisely that space. These are not merely “soft skills”; they are the very foundation upon which future success is built.

Research consistently shows that arts programs equip students with the skills necessary to thrive in the 21st-century economy. These competencies, honed through artistic practice, include problem-solving, attention to nuance, eye contact, adaptability, empathy, visualization of goals and outcomes, and effective decision-making. These are the very qualities employers seek in their workforce. Moreover, arts competencies themselves can be highly marketable skills in today’s economy — opening doors to careers in NYS’s booming creative industries and beyond.

However, despite these undeniable benefits, the data reveals a stark reality. Funds budgets for arts education accounts for 3% of NYC Public Schools budget. When adjusted for inflation, NYCPS is budgeting $40.8M less money on arts education now than we were back in FY17. Only 31% of NYC middle school students meet state arts learning requirements (ranging from 2% – 62% of students meeting requirements per school district), and arts instructional hours vary drastically at the elementary level. The term and condition passed by the Council last year revealed that 379 NYC public schools lack a certified arts teacher (about 1 in 5 schools) — leaving thousands of students without a dedicated arts teacher in their school. Furthermore, implications of the Class Size Mandate rollout, the Governor’s proposed changes to the Foundation Aid formula, and shifting federal funding stand to widen the arts education access gap for years to come.

More than 700 cultural organizations worked in partnership with schools last year to bridge that gap, broaden access to world-class artists, and provide external funding to schools, but delays in contracting and payment from multiple government agencies cause not only delayed educational opportunities for students but delayed employment for our city’s creative workforce.

Students without access to robust arts education taught by certified arts teachers and cultural organizations are denied opportunities to develop essential skills, explore their creativity, and connect with their communities. This inequity perpetuates existing disparities and ultimately limits the potential of our young people.

Investing in arts education is an investment in our future. Investment in quality of life. And investment in the development of our youngest New Yorkers. Therefore, I urge our City to take decisive action to ensure that all students have access to high-quality arts education. This includes: 

  • 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 (alongside early childhood, community schools, teacher recruitment, and more) 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.
  • Ensure Every School Has a Certified Arts Teachers ($39.8M): Ensure that all schools have at least one certified arts teacher, closing the equity gap for at least 379 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 ($75M): Add $30M to baseline funding plus a one-time add of $45M. 
  • Prioritize timely processing of contract renewals and extensions: As a nonprofit who is still waiting to be paid for work done in FY23 and FY24, our City should establish accountability mechanisms to ensure that agency staff process awards, extensions and renewals so that service gaps are avoided (especially when it comes to MTAC process within NYCPS).

We want inviting, colorful, vibrant, and thriving communities — that starts with the arts. Thank you for your time and consideration.

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