1. The Every Student Succeeds Act:
Opportunities for Music Education – Title IV, A

2. Table of Contents Introduction Timeline of Implementation Process
ESSA vs NCLB
ESSA: The Details
What is Title IV of ESSA?
Title IV Needs Assessments
The Opportunity to Learn (OTL) Standards
Next Steps / Other Methods / Future Webinars
© 2016, National Association for Music Education • nafme.org. All rights reserved. For individual use only.

3. Timeline: Implementation of ESSA
December 10, 2015: President Obama signs ESSA into law
December 2015-present: U.S. Department of Education begins the regulatory process to implement ESSA; NAfME engages with DOE on priority areas for music education via both regulation and non-regulatory guidance
Spring-Fall, 2016: States begin process of gathering feedback on ESSA from stakeholders. Many states hold meetings to hear from the public
School Year: States and districts begin needs assessments required under ESSA. States create and submit their ESSA plans for federal approval
Summer, 2017: Districts finalize needs assessments and write plan for Title IV-A, including funding requests
School Year: States approve district plans for ESSA and begin funding Titles I, II and IV-A including Section 4701 – A Well-Rounded Education

4. ESSA vs NCLB How Does ESSA Differ – and Not Differ– from NCLB?
Clear Shift from a “National School Board” to Greater State and Local Flexibility and Control
More Flexible Standards
More Flexible Accountability Systems
Highly Qualified Teachers
A New Definition of a Well-Rounded Education
Title IV Block Grants
Before we go deeper into specific opportunities for music education, let’s review a few big-picture themes in the shift from NCLB to ESSA.
State and local flexibility and control: States have the opportunity to create their own priorities and to formulate policies that serve the needs of their own students. Some coverage has characterized this as moving from the National School Board model of NCLB.
Standards: States must still adopt what the bill terms “challenging academic standards,” but have flexibility in determining those standards. Further, the Secretary of Education is prohibited from enforcing any specific set of standards (such as the Common Core Standards). Flexible Standards: Common core was also not “required” under NCLB. The main difference is
Accountability Systems: ESSA still requires testing for students for reading and language arts, math, and science in grades 3-8 and one time in high school. However, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measures from NCLB are gone. States are required to establish their own systems for assessment; ESSA also provides funding for states to revise and streamline those assessment systems, in order to improve their effectiveness and efficiency.
Highly Qualified Teachers: As with NCLB, States set their own licensure requirements under ESSA. However, the Highly Qualified Teacher provision from NCLB is eliminated in this new bill. The law does state that teachers must meet the credentials set forth by their state AND should have academic content knowledge for the content they teach if they are funded by ESSA.
Well-Rounded: The “core academic subjects” provision in NCLB has been replaced in ESSA with a new term: “well-rounded education.” All subjects listed under the Well- Rounded provision are eligible for use of Title I and Title II funds by state and local education entities. Music was not listed separately as a core subject under NCLB; it is enumerated separately under the new Well-Rounded Education provision in ESSA.
Title IV Block Grants: The new ESSA introduces a new formula/block grant program under Title IV, called Student Support and Academic Enrichment. This program allows states to create supplemental programs for well-rounded education opportunities. Title IV also retains 21st-century community learning centers, which offer after-school academic enrichment programs.

5. Music Education in ESSA:
The Details
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 inn 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.

6. 2. Enumeration of Music as a Well-Rounded Subject
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 green 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 this 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.”

7. 3. Flexibility of Title I Funds to Support a Well-Rounded Education
Section 1008 –
School-wide Title I Schools (Poverty > 40%)
Section 1009 –
Targeted Assistance Title I Schools
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
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
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 support 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 enagement. 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!

8. 4. More Professional Development for Music Educators
Funds from Titles I, II and IV of ESSA, may support professional development for music educators as part of a well-rounded education.
Part of opportunities in three chapters of ESSA
Will music educators 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.

9. 5. Flexible Accountability Systems
States choose multiple progress measures for schools
Music education-friendly measures such as student engagement, parental engagement and school culture/climate can be chosen
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?

10. 6. 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.

11. What Is Title IV – A?
The “Every Student Succeeds Act” (ESSA) includes a new block grant titled Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (SSAEG), created under Title IV, Part A.
Designed by a bipartisan effort, this grant will be used to help states and school districts better serve disadvantaged students, including providing access to well-rounded education subjects, which includes music and arts. 
One of the many new opportunities to increase access for music education within the “Every Student Succeeds Act” (ESSA) includes a new block grant titled Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (SSAEG), which was created under Title IV, Part A. Designed by a bipartisan effort, this grant will be used to help states and school districts better serve disadvantaged students, including providing access to well-rounded education subjects, which includes music and arts. 

12. Title IV – The Language
Title IV, Part A – “Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants”
SEC PURPOSE.
‘‘The purpose of this subpart is to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of States, local educational agencies, schools, and local communities to—
provide all students with access to a well rounded education;
improve school conditions for student learning; and
improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.
All three of the areas listed on the screen are supported by the funds in Title IV –A block grants. School culture/climate/safety – tied to improving school conditions and educational technology programs funded under these block grants must provide evidence of effectiveness prior to being funded. The well-rounded education section of these block grants, however, is not so tied. The intent here is to increase access to all well-rounded educational subjects, including music and the arts, for all students. In fact, the language in the law is very clear about the lack of access for many students to a well-rounded education. The law reads: “offer well-rounded educational experiences to all students…including female students, minority students, English learners, children with disabilities, and low-income students who are often underrepresented in critical and enriching subjects, which may include— (II) activities and programs in music and the arts.”

13. Title IV – Appropriations
Title IV, Part A is authorized at a $1.65 billion level, the 3rd largest funding level in ESSA:
President Obama’s Budget Proposal - $500 Million
The Senate - $300 Million
The House - $1 Billion
Call to Action! – bit.ly/NAfMEgrassroots
In response to this potential underfunding threat, NAfME has joined the “Title IV, Part A Coalition,” an alliance of like-minded prestigious education groups that are working to urge Congress to increase funding for this program. 

14. Title IV “Needs Assessments”
Sec – Local Educational Agency Applications
ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive an allocation under section 4105(a), a local educational agency shall—
submit an application, which shall contain, at a minimum, the information described in subsection (e), to the State educational agency at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the State educational agency may reasonably require; and complete a needs assessment in accordance with subsection (d)
One key component to Title IV, Part A is that school districts, MUST assess if their schools are providing a well-rounded education. 
These “needs assessments” determine where access may be lacking for their students, such as music education. 
School districts then create a plan to address those deficiencies based on the results of their needs assessments, which become part of the district’s Title IV funding application.

15. Title IV “Needs Assessments”
Assess LEA and School Needs for Well-Rounded Education including Music Education
Plan to address any areas needing support including Music Education
Apply for Title IV funds to provide support including for 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? We’ll get more into this later on…
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The needs assessment for Title IV-A is part of the routine cycle of planning and evaluation expected in the federal law for all titles, including Titles I and II. The planning begins with the needs assessment; creating a plan based on the needs identified; applying for Title IV funds via the state department of education; receiving the funds and implementing the plan; and then evaluating the outcomes. This is supposed to be an annual cycle. What makes this year interesting is this is the FIRST TIME your district will be undertaking this particular needs assessment for this NEW block grant of Title IV-A. And this is where YOU can make the difference – getting involved and making certain the needs of your music programs are fully identified and incorporated as appropriate into your Title IV-A plan and funding application for the school year.
More on timeline in a moment, let’s now spend some time thinking about this needs assessment, and how it ties into our Opportunity to Learn Standards…

16. What is a Needs Assessment?
IN GENERAL.—a local educational agency or consortium of such agencies shall conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the local educational agency or agencies proposed to be served under this subpart in order to examine needs for improvement of—
access to, and opportunities for, a well-rounded education for all students;
school conditions for student learning in order to create a healthy and safe school environment; and
access to personalized learning experiences supported by technology and professional development for the effective use of data and technology.
These “needs assessments” determine where access may be lacking for their students, such as music education. 
School districts then create a plan to address those deficiencies based on the results of their needs assessments, which become part of the district’s Title IV funding application.
One key component to Title IV, Part A is school districts, MUST assess if their schools are providing a well-rounded education.  Here is the language from the law detailing what must be included in the needs assessment. You will see that the Title IV, Part A needs assessment includes identifying needs in all three funded areas – well-rounded education, school conditions and educational technology.
These “needs assessments” determine where access may be lacking for their students, such as music education. 
School districts then create a plan to address those deficiencies based on the results of their needs assessments, which become part of the district’s Title IV funding application.

17. The Opportunity to Learn Standards
The 2015 Opportunity-to-Learn (OTL) standards identify the resources that need to be in place so that teachers, schools, and school districts can give students a meaningful chance to achieve at the levels outlined in the 2014 Music Standards.
The OTL Standards are categorized at the levels of music education that are spelled out in the 2014 Music Standards.
Created in 2015 by the Council of Music Program Leaders, the Opportunity-to-Learn Standards identify the resources that need to be in place so that teachers, schools, and school districts can give students a meaningful chance to achieve at the levels outlined in the 2014 Music Standards. The Council examined the new national music standards and discussed what resources were absolutely necessary to allow students to achieve at the levels found in the content standards. They also identified what resources would take a music program beyond this “basic” level to a “quality” level of program support for all students.
Using OTL standards to drive your Title IV-A music education needs assessment makes sense for a variety of reasons, including:
The standards have been created by experts from across the nation, representing urban, suburban and rural school settings.
The OTL standards are tied to the 2014 Music Standards. By this time next year, more than half of the states in our country will have revised their state level standards based off of the 2014 Music Standards. These OTL standards, then, have relevancy and connection to your state’s music standards – the content standards that you are held responsible for as a music educator.
These OTL standards are nationally normed – so it’s not just a “wish list” you and your colleagues have devised in your school district. Instead, these standards represent a national council’s expertise on what is needed to provide students a music education allowing them to meet content standards.

18. OTLs – Categories & Content Areas
The OTL standards provide guidance for several key areas that are inherent to providing a proper music education to American students.
Areas Addressed
Curriculum & Scheduling
Each category provides OTL standards or indicators describing “basic” or “quality” music education programs.
Staffing
Materials & Equipment
Facilities

19. OTLs – Categories & Content Areas
Facilities (All-Grades & All-Content Areas)
Basic
Quality
Spaces used for music instruction are adequate in size to accommodate the largest group taught, and have:
Appropriate acoustical properties. Each room is acoustically isolated from by an acoustical barrier or wall with a Sound Transmission Classification (STC) of 50 or more.
Appropriate lighting and ventilation: Lighting and ventilation systems do not exceed Noise Criterion levels of 20 for auditoria or other rooms designated for performances, and 30 for classrooms, rehearsal rooms, and practice rooms or studios.
Separate spaces are provided for music instruction and music performance. Performance venues are adequate to accommodate the largest group taught and have appropriate properties of acoustics, lighting, secure storage, and sound.
At least one performance venue is available that provides seating for the entire school population.
Individual areas, with access to recording equipment, are provided for the purpose of student assessment.
Students have access to high-quality performance venues at least once a year to enable them to present academic accomplishments to the public.
OTLs – Categories & Content Areas
The first section of the OTLs outline what should be available for all grades, all music content areas, whether orchestra, mariachi or general music. These standards are an excellent tool for cross-school or district-wide discussion by music educators in terms of what is currently available, and if equity exists between and across programs and schools. We will speak more on to how to do that in a moment.
On the screen, you are seeing one example from the all grades/all content areas of the OTLs – this one focused on facilities. Take a look at the requirements for Basic and for Quality. Does your music room meet the criteria for Basic? For Quality? How about all the music rooms within your school district? I sometimes substitute for my husband, who is a middle school band teacher. His room certainly doesn’t meet the size adequacy listed in these basic OTL’s, nor is the room acoustically isolated from the neighboring Kindergarten rooms (his Kindergarten colleagues are very gracious about this!). And, while the A/C unit which is housed right next to his room is not as loud as the furnace often referenced by Dr. Peter Boonshaft in describing one of his earliest teaching experiences, I have difficulty speaking over it and being heard by the students when it is running. Based on what I just described for you regarding my husband’s band room, I think I’d have to say it does not meet the basic requirements outlined in this section of the OTL standards.

20. OTLs – Grade & Content Area
The OTLs also offer specific guidance to all grades and all content areas:
Content Area
Ensembles
HS Composition & Theory
Guitar, Keyboard, Harmonizing Instruments
HS Music Technology
Grade Span
PreK – 2 General Music
Grade 3 – 5 General Music
Grade 6 – 12 General Music

21. Basic Quality Scheduling for Grade 6 – 12 General Music
At least ninety minutes of instruction are given to each student in General Music during each week.
Classes in General Music are no larger than classes in other subjects of the curriculum.
For students with special needs who are included:
Their placement is determined on the same basis as placement for students without special needs.
Music educators are involved in placement decisions and are fully informed about the needs for each student.
The course of instruction in all secondary schools should include a continuation of a sequential music curriculum.
Classes in General Music are scheduled so as to allow students to participate in at least one additional strand of music instruction.
Instruction in General Music is provided to students in durations commensurate with other core academic subject areas.
All students are required to participate in general music classes through grade 8 in addition to having the option of electing ensemble participation.
Here, we are looking a curriculum and scheduling set of OTL’s for upper grade general music classes. Again, consider the OTL standards under basic – do your students get at least 90 minutes of instruction each week in general music for grades 6 and up? Are special needs students included in those classes – and are you, as an educator, involved in those placement decisions? As importantly, do you understand the needs for each of the special needs students in your classes – has their IEP or 504 information been shared with you in a timely manner?
Now, take a moment to look at the Quality OTL standards for general music scheduling: does your program offer general music for a similar duration as other subjects that the students study during the course of the school day? In order to meet this criteria, your program would be offering general music daily, or every other day for extended time such as on a block schedule.

22. More on Title IV? Archived Webinar: OTLs, Title IV & You!
Link on Everything ESSA page
Handouts and Materials from Title IV – OTL Webinar
OTL Summary Sheet
OTL Standards Checklist – General Music Checklist
OTL Standards Checklist – Specialized Areas Including Ensembles Checklist
OTL Standards Checklist – General K-12 Checklist
Title IV – OTL Webinar FAQs
Short quiz available below to receive recognition for professional development valued at one contact hour.

23. Call to Action – Title IV-A Appropriations
Underfunding SSAEG prevents districts and schools from receiving sufficient SSAEG funds to meaningfully invest in critical areas, like school music programs. 
School districts would be forced to make difficult and unconscionable trade-offs between programs and would fail to create a fully “Well-Rounded” course of study.
Call to Action! – bit.ly/NAfMEgrassroots
Visit our Grassroots Action Center and use our tool to write a letter to your members in Congress about the importance music education and fully funding SSAEG!

24. Other Ways?
The door is WIDE open—more than any time in the history of this legislation—for discussions at the state and local level about how federal dollars can be used to provide a broader and richer curriculum for students.
This is why state and local advocacy will continue to be critical to help students get more access to music education.
The most successful local efforts are those that are unique to the situation!

25. Next Steps
Visit the NAfME Everything ESSA page to learn more about the legislation! Look at the NAfME ESSA Implementation Toolkit to learn more about how ESSA will be implemented in your state and district. Formulate questions for your state MEA or for our advocacy team and think about how you may be able to get involved. Share these resources with your principal, local administrators, and teachers. Think about how you can raise awareness in your community about the opportunities offered for music education through ESSA. Visit our advocacy site at bit.ly/NAfMEadvocacy for advocacy news and resources. Share YOUR story about music education, and sign up to receive policy updates from the NAfME national policy and advocacy team.

26. Implementation Toolkit: Immediate “To Do’s”
At your district: Can you be part of your district’s Title IV Needs Assessment for well-rounded education?
At your Title I school: How will your school plan incorporate well-rounded education, including music?

28. Upcoming Advocacy Webinars
October 18 – ESSA & Title I
February 8 – U.S. Federal Appropriations Update, State of the Union Analysis
May 3 – To be determined