Music Education Advocates,

The House Labor-HHS-Appropriations subcommittee introduced its funding bill for fiscal year 2024, which includes the Department of Education's (ED) budget. The bill would provide the Department of Education with $57.1 billion in discretionary funding, which is a $22.5 billion (28%) decrease below FY24 funding and falls $33 billion short of the President’s request. This is the lowest funding amount allocated to ED since 2006 and will have devastating impacts throughout America's education system, if enacted. To avoid the potential impact of slashing ED's budget by more than 1/4, we need you, music education advocates, to rally together and show your support for these vital programs.

Fortunately, we are still in the midst of appropriations season, and during this time, advocates can have a substantial impact! We urge you to reach out to your members of Congress and show support for programs and legislation impacting music education. The most compelling arguments you can provide to legislators are based on personal experiences within their state. We suggest you include a personal anecdote about how you or your students have benefited from one of these programs. This campaign provides information on federal programs impacting music education, and a sample letter for potential advocates to send their members of Congress in support of federal programs impacting music education.

NAfME Priorities

• Title I, Part A—Provides funds, through both school-wide and targeted assistance programs, to school districts to help disadvantaged children achieve proficiency on challenging academic standards and improve the performance of low-achieving schools.
  • Title I-A would receive $3.7 billion, a $14.7 billion (80%) decrease below FY23 funding.
  • House Democrats estimate this cut would eliminate 220,000 teaching positions from classrooms serving low-income students
• Title II—Focuses on improving student academic achievement by bolstering skills and expertise of teachers, principals, and other educators and increasing the number of high-quality teachers and principals in schools.
  •  Title II would receive no funding and be completely eliminated under the latest proposal.
• Title IV, Part A—A flexible block grant program which supports activities in three broad areas: (1) providing students with a well-rounded education (e.g., college and career counseling, STEM, arts and music, civics, advanced placement); (2) supporting safe and healthy students (e.g., comprehensive school mental health,drug and violence prevention, health and physical education); and (3) supporting the effective use of technology.
  • Title IV, Part A would receive level funding compared to FY23
  • Taking into account the drastic cuts to Titles I and II, Title IV funding would need to supplement deficiencies in other areas,
• Assistance for Arts Education Program (Title IV-F)—Promotes arts education for all students through activities such as professional development for arts educators; development and dissemination of accessible instructional materials; and community and national outreach activities that strengthen and expand partnerships among schools, local education agencies, and centers for the arts
  •   Title II would receive no funding and be completely eliminated under the latest proposal.

Additional Key Programs Facing Elimination

• Teacher Quality Partnerships - The program funds comprehensive undergraduate and graduate educator preparation programs that combine student teaching under an experienced mentor, with coursework in child development, teaching methods, and curriculum development.
• Hawkins Centers of Excellence- Designed to support comprehensive teacher preparation at programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and minority-serving institutions (MSIs).
• Full-Service Community Schools- Provides support for the planning, implementation, and operation of full-service community schools that improve the coordination, integration, accessibility, and effectiveness of services for children and families, particularly for children attending high-poverty schools, including high-poverty rural schools.
• Promise Neighborhood- Provides funding to support eligible entities, including (1) nonprofit organizations, which may include faith-based nonprofit organizations, (2) institutions of higher education, and (3) Indian tribes.
• Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) grants
• HBCU, TCU, and MSI Research and Development Infrastructure (IGNITE) - Designed to promote transformational investments in research infrastructure at four-year HBCUs, TCUs, and other MSIs. 
• Federal Work Study- Provides funds for part-time employment to help students in need to finance the costs of postsecondary education. 
• Student Aid Administration- Student Aid Administration provides funds to administer the Federal student financial assistance programs, which provides funds to help students and families pay for the cost of postsecondary education.