Advocacy

The Latest on Music Education Policy from Capitol Hill

MENC Legislative Memo

Feb 7, 2011

On February 7, MENC, along with ASTA and NAMM, hosted “A Music Education Policy Roundtable” under the SupportMusic umbrella at MENC headquarters in Reston, Virginia.

MENC and NAMM collaborate on SupportMusic.com, which provides tools and resources to advance community support for music education.

Chris Woodside, MENC Assistant Executive Director for Advocacy and Public Affairs, said this is a “pivotal time to make our case” because efforts to scale back arts education funding appear to be gaining steam.

“We want to come together, talk strategy and share information about crucial issues,” Woodside said.

Mike Blakeslee, MENC Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Executive Director, asked, “What is our policy agenda? What are our legislative ‘asks?’ What do we want to accomplish for our individual organizations but also, what is best for the common good?”

MENC's Mike Blakeslee records the Roundtable's consensus recommendations

Blakeslee also said there is urgency to that work. The Obama administration’s emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects has raised flags for music and arts education advocates, as well as those from other disciplines such as history and foreign languages.

Representatives from various additional entities attended as well:

• Americans for the Arts
• Chorus America
• League of American Orchestras
• Music Teachers National Association
• National Association of Schools of Music
• Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
• VH1 Save the Music
   

Several others participated remotely via webinar.

Those attending discussed how smaller organizations can work with larger ones to achieve common goals. Roundtable attendees agreed that it is also important to encourage members to participate in local advocacy and not to rely solely on national efforts.

By the end of the session, attendees had reached consensus on a set of “working” recommendations:

• Congress needs to maintain the status of the arts as a core academic subject.
• The Department of Education should collect research to help the field of music education better understand its needs.
• Accountability provisions, which include a measurement of music success, are essential.
• Funding should be sought either throughout the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) or by addressing specific titles.
   

  From left: Roundtable discussion participants Heather Noonan, League of American Orchestras; Gary Ingle, Music Teachers National Association; and Laurie Lock, VH1 Save the Music

Roundtable attendees agreed to keep in touch and to continue to work together to make adjustments to the “asks” listed above, and to make progress on common advocacy goals.