1. ESSA Opportunities for Music and Arts Education
EdTA
September 17, 2016

2. 1. A New and Clear Intent to Support Our Nation’s Schools through a Well-Rounded Education
1965 ESEA -Title I – Financial Assistance to Local Education Agencies for the Education of Children of Low Income Families
1981 ESEA – Title I - Financial Assistance to Meet Special Educational Needs of Children 
1994 ESEA – Title I - Helping Children in Need Meet High Standards
2001 ESEA (NCLB) Title I – Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged
2015 ESSA – Title I - Improving Basic Programs Operated by State and Local Educational Agencies
The change of language is important here. For the first time, Title I focuses on school programs instead of on disadvantaged children. It signals a change in the intent of Congress – and signals that Congress understands the need to support the entirety of schooling in order to create an improvement for children in poverty.
Does anyone know who is in the photo? Yup – it’s LBJ – President Johnson – at the signing ceremony for the first ESEA in Sitting next to him is his childhood schoolteacher Ms. Kate Deadrich Loney. President Johnson returned to a small one-room school in Texas to sign the first ESEA into law 50 years ago. For those of you who haven’t read the LBJ biographies by Robert Caro (I’m on book 3!), President Johnson grew up in poverty in the Hill Country of Texas. He never forgot what it was like to be poor, and ESEA was one of his signature programs in his War on Poverty.

3. 2. Enumeration of Arts and Music as Well-Rounded Subjects
Title VIII, Section Definitions
‘‘(52) WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION.—The term ‘well-rounded education’ means courses, activities, and programming in subjects such as English, reading or language arts, writing, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, geography, computer science, music, career and technical education, health, physical education, and any other subject, as determined by the State or local educational agency, with the purpose of providing all students access to an enriched curriculum and educational experience.’’
Well-rounded education replaces the definitional term of “Core Academic Subjects” in this version of ESEA. The orange highlighted subjects are the new ones added to well-rounded along with music.
Key here is that the intent is for ALL STUDENTS TO HAVE ACCESS to these subject areas, including music. This resonates with the new Strategic Plan for NAfME – our advocacy area – one of 4 strategic directions for the association, reads: “Inform, engage and activate the public, policymakers and educational leaders to promote and support music as an integral and core component of a comprehensive and balanced education accessible to all students.”

4. 3. Requirements for Well-Rounded Education
Title IV: 21st Century Schools – Section 4107
Assess LEA and School Needs for Well-Rounded Education including Arts and Music Education
Plan to address any areas needing support including Arts and Music Education
Apply for Title IV funds to provide support including for Arts and Music Education
Implement changes utilizing Title IV funds
Evaluate if the needs were met and/or changes are needed
The definition for well-rounded education connects to ALL areas of the ESSA. No area is more important, I would argue, though, than Title IV – entitled 21st Century Schools. Title IV represents a NEW pot of federal funds to support schools in their use of technology, in creating safe school environments, and under Section 4107, to support Well-rounded educational opportunities.
Specifically, local educational agencies or districts (or charter holders) MUST assess if their schools are providing for a well-rounded education as spelled out in the definition seen in the previous slide, determine where access may be lacking in these areas for their students (all of their students) and create a plan to address those deficiencies. That plan becomes part of their funding ask, then, for Title IV funds for their school district.
THIS is an area where you as a music educator can get involved. Who in your district will determine what’s included in your Title IV well-rounded needs assessment? Can you help determine what the needs are for your district? This is an opportunity to provide better, more comprehensive, and/or more equitable access to music education for your district’s students.
And remember, you need to keep in mind that music is not the only area that can be supported with Title IV funds. Your needs in music education may not be as great as needs in other areas. Being a team player and helping to prioritize the needs for your students fairly across the district will help insure that you remain at the table for future discussions about funding.

5. 4. Flexibility of Title I Funds to Support a Well-Rounded Education
Section 1008 – Schoolwide
Title I Schools (Poverty > 40%)
Section 1009 – Targeted Assistance Title I Schools
Targeted programming for identified students at academic risk, which may include:
“using resources under this part to help eligible children meet the challenging State academic standards, which may include programs, activities, and academic courses necessary to provide a well-rounded education” which can include music and the arts
Arts and Music as part of whole school reform, including not just academic achievement but school culture/climate
Each Schoolwide school is encouraged to include activities in support of a well-rounded education in its schoolwide plan, which includes music and the arts
An additional area of flexibility has been introduced into Title I. How many of you teach at a Title I school? Title I funds historically have gone to fund academic interventions to support the tested subject areas of reading and math. In many schools, that will continue to be the norm; ESSA, however, creates flexibility in terms of how Title I funds can be utilized in a school based on a school’s plan (much like the plan development we saw for Title IV).
First – schoolwide Title I schools. Schoolwide Title I schools make the choice to embrace whole school reform to support children and their learning. That whole school reform can (and has been able to under both NCLB and ESSA) include music education as part of a school’s culture/climate or in support of student engagement. Under ESSA, schools are encouraged to include well-rounded educational activities in their schoolwide plan. If you teach at a Title I Schoolwide school, will music be included in your updated schoolwide plan?
And, for the first time under ESSA, Title I Targeted Assistance Schools are encouraged to utilize their federal dollars in support of a well-rounded education, which can include music. Traditionally, targeted schools identify students in academic need and funnel their Title I funds to support them in those areas – normally reading and math. Under ESSA, those funds can support all aspects of a well-rounded education for those targeted students. This is new. It’s very different. And we don’t know what this might look like on the ground. What could you do as a music educator to provide music education to your school’s most struggling students? Are they already in your program? If not, what would you develop for them? What additional supports might they need? And how would that connect back to their overall achievement in your school? I encourage you to imagine what this could look like if you are at a targeted assistance Title I school. Dream… and discuss ideas with your administrator!

6. 5. More Professional Development for Arts and Music Educators
Funds from Titles I, II and IV of ESSA, may support professional development for arts and music educators as part of a well-rounded education.
Part of opportunities in 3 chapters of ESSA
Will we be included
equitably?
Titles I, II and IV include funds that can be used for professional development by all content teachers included in the well-rounded education definition (like music educators!). How will the needs of you and your colleagues be heard as your district determines what professional development to support with federal education dollars from ESSA? Is your music supervisor or program leader part of the team making these choices? Can a music educator such as yourself be part of the committee? And, what ARE your professional development needs? Do you know what would best support your work as a music educator – to bring to the table as a request?
ESSA speaks to the need for strong content-knowledge for educators, so this does NOT mean that you solely get professional development in Common Core. It’s about high quality professional development based on the needs you have as an educator.

7. 6. Flexible Accountability Systems
States choose multiple progress measures for schools
Arts and Music education-friendly measures such as student engagement, parental engagement, non-cognitive skills and school culture/climate can be chosen.
NJ and CT = measures of access and participation part of their school report systems
AYP
Under ESSA, AYP or Adequate Yearly Progress, with its multiple measures per school, ends. No more AYP!
Instead, states are given flexibility to design their own accountability systems. Tested subject area performance must be included, but states must add in other measures. Some of the possible measures include ones friendly to music education such as parent engagement, or student engagement, or school culture/climate.
NAfME is working with state MEAs to see if we can influence state choices in this area. Will music-friendly measures be included? Who gets to decide – and when will these decisions be made? How can state music education leaders be included in this decision-making process?

8. 7. Protection from “Pull Outs”
The new ESSA discourages removing students from the classroom, including music and arts, for remedial instruction.
Section 1009 (Targeted Assistance Programs) - (ii) “minimize the removal of children from the regular classroom during regular school hours for instruction provided under this part”
Identical to NCLB, ESSA retains language requesting that schools build their Title I programs without disrupting the school day (and learning!) for students receiving support under Title I. Believe it or not, the law has frowned upon, and continues to frown upon, removing children from one subject to receive remedial instruction in another. If this is happening now in your school, share this section of the law with your administrator. Schools are meant to think innovatively about scheduling and services, including utilizing after-school, before-school, weekend and summer school time to provide interventions for students. Not having them miss art, music and physical education for their additional math study.

9. ESSA – Funding by Title Title I-A
Focus: providing supplemental funds to schools in poverty to support the needs of their students. For now on Basic Programs offered by the LEA/district (title change)
What it funds: Historically reading/math interventions; whole school reform. Now open to well-rounded education opportunities for both Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance structures
How funds are distributed: Annually by each state to each district meeting poverty criteria through complicated funding formula based on U.S. Census Poverty with greater weights for certain categories. Districts then allocate funds to eligible schools after determining district level set asides in rank order of poverty (free/reduced lunch counts)

10. ESSA – Funding by Title Title II-A
Focus: Preparing, Training and Recruiting High Quality Teachers, Principals, or Other School Leaders
What it funds: Traditionally focused on professional development; now a listing of 21 fundable activities at the state level; 16 at the district level. Professional development still an option and where most funding will remain at district level
How funds are distributed: Annually by each state to each district through funding formula with heavier weight given to districts with higher poverty; and that weighting grows over time. Funds traditionally spent at the district level, not school site level.

11. ESSA – Funding by Title Title IV-A
Focus: 21st Century Schools – Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants
What it funds: 3 areas: Educational Technology; Safe and Healthy Students; and Well-Rounded Education. First two must spend dollars on evidence-based programs; well-rounded education language is about access for all children; evidence-basis not required
How funds are distributed: Annually by each state to each district through funding formula based on funding allocations to districts from Title I, Part A, Subpart 2. Funds spent at the district level, not school site level.

12. Stay in touch… www.bit.ly/NCLBends
Visit the NAfME website under “Everything ESSA” to stay up to date on materials, toolkits and resources you can use to better understand and engage with this new federal law.
Archived webinars
Everything ESSA (basically what you’ve just seen)
Title IV and OTL’s
Lynn Tuttle