The Score | League Urges Support for the Arts in All Schools

At a public meeting at U.S. Department of Education headquarters on January 11, League of American Orchestras Vice President for Advocacy Heather Noonan urged the Department to close gaps in access to music and arts education in high-poverty schools as it administers the Every Student Succeeds Act. Alongside representatives from organizations including the Council of Chief State School Officers, Dignity in Schools Campaign, and the National Education Association, Noonan spoke to top administrators and the public as the Department frames guidance for state and local education policy makers under the new law. The League’s statement emphasizes that orchestras and other community-based organizations partner with parents, educators, and school systems to seek improved opportunities for all students to receive the full benefits of an arts education, and urges the Department to address serious gaps in access to arts education in our nation’s highest-poverty schools.