NAfME & 50 Federated Associations Send Letter to Congress
“Provide Maximum Funding for Title IV, Part A of ESSA”
The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and 50 of its State Federated Music Education Associations have submitted letters to the leadership of both Federal Congressional Committees on Appropriations.
The letter advocates to Congress to not pass another Continuing Resolution for Fiscal Year 2017, and provide maximum funding for the Title IV, Part A block grant of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
A copy of the House of Representatives’ version is provided below with a digital copy here.
| The Honorable Rodney Frelinghuysen Chairman Committee on Appropriations United States House of Representatives H-305, The Capitol Washington, D.C. 20510 |
The Honorable Nita Lowey Ranking Member Committee on Appropriations United States House of Representatives H-305, The Capitol Washington, D.C. 20510 |
March 9, 2017
Dear Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Lowey:
The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and 49 of its Federated State Associations are writing to request the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations to not pass another Continuing Resolution (CR) for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) and provide maximum funding for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grant program under Title IV, Part A of the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
For nearly fifteen years, students, educators, and parents faced the unintended consequences behind policies created under “No Child Left Behind,” which included frequently narrowed curricula that reduced engagement with critical subjects, such as music. The signing of ESSA marks a positive step forward for all students across the nation by focusing on what makes a student whole by embracing the intrinsic value of a “Well-Rounded Education,” which now includes music education as one part of the whole. The SSAE program embodies this fundamental value by allowing school districts the opportunity to choose where to best spend their SSAE dollars in order to provide access to a broad and rich curricula. Students desperately need a “Well-Rounded Education” for academic success and in today’s workforce.
If Congress chooses to apply another stopgap spending measure, the first year of implementation and effectiveness for SSAE would be severely hampered. As you may know, this new program is the result of a consolidation of more than 20 existing programs from Title V of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) into a single formula-funded flexible block grant program. If another Continuing Resolution (CR) is passed, the consolidated funding from those programs only amounts to $278 million, less than one-fourth of its $1.65 billion authorized funding level, which Congress agreed upon in a bipartisan manner. Significantly underfunding SSAE not only undermines the greater flexibility that Congress had intended for states and districts in ESSA, but also endangers the program’s long-term success and would not allow schools to make meaningful investments in critical areas of need, such as school music programs. Under the Continuing Resolution’s funding level, school districts would be forced to make difficult and unconscionable trade-offs between high-quality programs and would fail to create a “Well-Rounded” course of study. We urge the Committee to complete FY17’s appropriations process and match SSAE’s authorized level of $1.65 billion.
In addition, we object any prescribing or amending language that recommends turning SSAE into a competitive grant program, regardless of the funding level. A competitive program would significantly disadvantage smaller and more rural school districts that often lack the resources to apply for funding at all. These same districts would benefit the most from the program, as they frequently serve students who are in most need, a population that has shown to perform better academically when exposed to a broad curriculum that includes music programs. Sufficiently funding SSAE would eliminate any need for competitive targeting and increase local control over educational investments.
ESSA is a historic piece of legislation and we must ensure that it is properly funded within its first authorized year to guarantee a world-class education for our nation’s students. On behalf of music educators, students, and advocates across the nation, we urge you to appropriate as close to full funding as possible for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment grant. Thank you for your consideration and for your service to our nation’s students.
Sincerely,
The National Association for Music Education
Supporting State Federated Organizations
| Alabama Music Educators Association Alaska Music Educators Association Arizona Music Educators Association Arkansas Music Educators Association California Music Educators Association Colorado Music Educators Association Connecticut Music Educators Association Delaware Music Educators Association Florida Music Education Association Georgia Music Educators Association Hawaii Music Educators Association Idaho Music Educators Association Illinois Music Education Association Indiana Music Education Association Iowa Music Educators Association Kansas Music Educators Association Kentucky Music Educators Association Louisiana Music Educators Association Maine Music Educators Association Maryland Music Educators Association Massachusetts Music Educators Association Michigan Music Education Association Minnesota Music Educators Association Mississippi Music Educators Association Missouri Music Educators Association |
Montana Music Educators Association Nebraska Music Educators Association Nevada Music Educators Association New Hampshire Music Educators Association New Jersey Music Educators Association New Mexico Music Educators Association New York State School Music Association North Carolina Music Educators Association North Dakota Music Educators Association Ohio Music Education Association Oklahoma Music Educators Association Oregon Music Education Association Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Rhode Island Music Education Association South Carolina Music Educators Association South Dakota Music Education Association Tennessee Music Education Association Texas Music Educators Conference Utah Music Educators Association Vermont Music Educators Association Virginia Music Educators Association Washington Music Educators Association West Virginia Music Educators Association Wisconsin Music Educators Association Wyoming Music Educators Association |
Ronny Lau, Policy Advisor, Center for Advocacy, Policy, and Constituency Engagement, March 10, 2017. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)
