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Creativity Challenge: The State of Arts Education in California, New Report from SRI Education

Nearly 90% of California Schools Fail to Meet State-Mandated Arts Education Requirements – New Report from SRI Education

Despite shifts in school funding formulas and updated arts education requirements, progress remains slow in effort to prepare students for 21st century jobs and civic engagement 

PASADENA, Calif. (September 7, 2022) — Today, Create CA announced the release of a new report, from SRI Education, a division of SRI International, with funding from the Hewlett Foundation’s Performing Arts Program, that provides a snapshot of student access to state-mandated arts education in California public schools. While numerous studies have shown arts education is essential for student wellbeing, academic success, preparation for 21st century jobs, and civic engagement, California isn’t meeting its own requirements for providing arts instruction to California students.  

Creativity Challenge: The State of Arts Education in California evaluates data from the 2019-20 school year. It measures the degree to which students have an opportunity to complete standards-based, sequential arts education K-12 in music, dance, theatre, and visual arts as required by state law. Using data from the 2005-06 school year as a baseline for comparison, it shows that some schools have made incremental improvements in providing arts education, but nearly nine in ten schools continue to fall short of complying with state requirements

“This report shows that some school and district leaders still don’t treat the visual and performing arts as an essential academic subject,” said Tom DeCaigny, executive director of Create CA. “Dedicated time in the curriculum, appropriately trained teachers, and supplies and equipment are all needed for high-quality arts education. California public schools are falling short of their mandate to prepare the next generation of Californians for civic engagement and the workforce of the future.” 

Key findings about changes to access arts education between 2006-2020 include:

  • Only 11 percent of California schools offered instruction in all four arts disciplines (music, dance, theatre and visual arts) as required by state law; that number remained unchanged between the two study periods.
  • The percentage of individual schools offering sequential, standards-based instruction in at least one arts discipline increased from 71 percent to 79 percent.
  • Elementary schools, court and community schools, and schools serving high proportions of children from low-income families generally provide less access to arts instruction and face greater barriers to increasing student access to such instruction.
  • High schools were more than twice as likely to provide access to a course of study in the four required arts disciplines than either middle or elementary schools.

“Coming back from COVID, we’ve seen that arts classes have played a key role in supporting student mental health and promoting overall academic achievement,” added Jeannine Flores, Los Angeles County Office of Education Arts & STEAM Coordinator and chair of the Create CA board. “Districts are starting to partner with local arts organizations and look for ways to leverage flexible state and federal funding to give students access to the quality education to which they are entitled.”

The State of California updated funding and education policies in 2013. These changes increased local control of funding decisions and prioritized access to a broad course of study, which made local champions for arts education critical to ensuring proper funding and access to instruction in all four areas of visual and performing arts. Laws passed in recent years emphasize the importance of Career Technical Education, including in the Arts, Media, and Entertainment industry sector, and created a new credential for theatre and dance teachers. The state also approved new California Arts Standards in 2019 and the California Arts Education Framework in 2020.

“We set out to assess the extent to which California schools are meeting state requirements for arts education and to understand differences in access across California’s diverse communities,” noted Katrina Woodworth, Senior Principal Researcher with SRI Education and lead author of the report.

In recent years, educators and policymakers have advocated for expanded access to arts education at the state level. Advocates have also worked to promote collaboration across the nonprofit and public sectors. A broad collective impact coalition has promoted the full inclusion of the arts into the California public education system. These efforts led to some of the policy changes and increases in access to arts education described in the report.

In particular, the report calls attention to the need to expand opportunities to train teachers in all areas of arts instruction. Such efforts could include professional development for existing teachers and new pipelines for bringing credentialed arts teachers and teaching artists into classrooms. Steady, reliable funding for arts instruction, especially for districts that serve large proportions of low-income students, is needed to ensure access to arts education remains sustainable. The state should also consider requiring school districts to collect more specific data to examine access and participation in arts education, including at the elementary level, and ensure visibility into enrollment by student subgroups (e.g. English learners, students with disabilities, etc). 

“Art and creativity are essential to students’ capacity for self-expression and critical thinking, and for their ability to interpret and navigate the world around us,” says Emiko Ono, director of Hewlett’s Performing Arts Program. “This report shows that, while we have made some progress, California’s public school system is not moving quickly enough to ensure every students’ right to a comprehensive education that includes learning in and through the arts.”

To read a summary of the report’s key findings, please visit https://createca.org/CreativityChallenge/. The full report is available here.

Media Contact: 

Nina Erlich-Williams, nina@fcpcommunications.com 

C: 415-577-1153

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About Create CA

Create CA advocates for high quality arts education for all students by providing policy expertise and by mobilizing a statewide network of advocates and allied partners.

About SRI Education

SRI Education, a division of SRI International, reduces barriers and optimizes outcomes for children, youth, and families. SRI’s research teams work with federal, state, foundation and commercial partners to improve teaching, education policies and student learning by conducting high-quality research, supporting use of data and evidence, and developing tools that improve teaching and accelerate and deepen learning. Founded in 1946, SRI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute.

About the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is a nonpartisan, private charitable foundation that advances ideas and supports institutions to promote a better world. For more than 50 years, the foundation has supported efforts to advance education for all, preserve the environment, support vibrant performing arts, strengthen Bay Area communities, make the philanthropy sector more effective and foster gender equity and responsive governance around the world. Its newest program focuses on strengthening America’s democratic institutions.

Nearly 90% of California Schools Fail to Meet State-Mandated Arts Education Requirements – New Report from SRI Education Despite shifts in school funding formulas and updated arts education requirements, progress remains slow in effort to prepare students for 21st century jobs and civic engagement  PASADENA, Calif. (September 7, 2022) — Today, Create CA announced the...

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