Application Window Open for the Assistance for Arts Education Program

Application Window Open for the Assistance for Arts Education Program

Deadline Is August 25

The U.S. Department of Education has issued a notice inviting applications for the Assistance for Arts Education program, which is the only dedicated federal funding source for arts education, including dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts. Applications are due August 25, 2025.

According to the notice, $13 million is available in FY 2025, and the Department estimates granting three to four awards ranging from $750,000-$1 million. Eligible applicants include school districts, state departments of education, institutions of higher education, museums or cultural institutions, but there is a competitive priority for national nonprofit organizations that are supported by staff or affiliates at the state and local levels and that demonstrate “effectiveness or high-quality plans for addressing arts education activities for disadvantaged students or students who are children with disabilities.” Competitive preference will also be given to projects that promote patriotic education, which are designed to “provide an introduction to and understanding of the founding documents and primary sources of the American political tradition.”

Music education advocates in 2024 at the Robert A. Taft Memorial and Carillon. Photo by © Ashlee Wilcox Photography, LLC

Projects must promote arts education for students and could include the following activities:

• Professional development for arts educators, teachers, and principals;
• Development and dissemination of accessible instructional materials and arts-based educational programming; and
• Community and national outreach activities that strengthen partnerships among schools, LEAs, communities, or centers for the arts, including national centers for the arts.

The Assistance for Arts Education program received $36.5 million in FY 2024, but specific funding amounts were not included in the final bill for FY 2025. Most education programs were level-funded in the year-long continuing resolution that Congress approved in March 2025, so we hope that current grantees will receive continuation awards for their fifth and final year of funding. Stay tuned for updates as we await additional information from the Department.

The president’s budget proposal for FY 2026 would eliminate funding for the Assistance for Arts Education, and the bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee in July would include a small cut for the program in the 2026-27 school year. Now is a good time to share your support for arts education with your members of Congress before final bills are passed before the September 30 deadline. Please take a moment to visit our Grassroots Action Center and send a pre-drafted message to your U.S. Representative and Senators and share how music and arts education makes an impact in your district.