Bill Text: CA ACR170 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Arts Education Month.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-06-25 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 27, Statutes of 2020. [ACR170 Detail]
Download: California-2019-ACR170-Chaptered.html
Assembly Concurrent Resolution
No. 170
CHAPTER 27
Relative to Arts Education Month.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
June 25, 2020.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 170, Kamlager.
Arts Education Month.
This measure would proclaim March 2020 as Arts Education Month and would urge all residents to become interested in and give full support to quality school arts programs for children and youth.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NOBill Text
WHEREAS, Arts education, which includes dance, music, theater, and the visual arts, is an essential and integral part of basic education for all pupils in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive; and
WHEREAS, The arts are crucial to achieving a state educational policy that is devoted to the teaching of basic academic skills and lifelong learning capacities with the goal of truly preparing all children for success after high school regardless of gender, age, economic status, physical ability, or learning ability; and
WHEREAS, A systematic, substantive, and sequential visual and performing arts curriculum addresses and develops ways of thinking, questioning, expression, and learning that complement learning in other core subjects, but that is unique in what it has to offer; and
WHEREAS, Pupils benefit from arts learning in the areas of cultural understanding, readiness for learning and creative thinking, cognitive outcomes, emotional intelligence and expression, social interaction and collaboration, and preparation for the workplace and lifelong learning; and
WHEREAS, Arts education in California is mandated for pupils in grades 1 to 12, inclusive, by Sections 51210 and 51220 of the Education Code, which provide, in part, “[t]he adopted course of study ... shall include instruction ... in ... [v]isual and performing arts, including instruction in the subjects of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts, aimed at the development of aesthetic appreciation and the skills of creative expression”; and
WHEREAS, The arts are recognized as part of a quality education, and the University of California and the California State University have instituted a policy that includes visual and performing arts as a college preparatory subject for all high school pupils wishing to enter the state’s institutions of higher education; and
WHEREAS, The State of California, through the local control funding formula, has provided flexibility for local educational agencies to target growing resources towards arts education; and
WHEREAS, It is the intent of the Legislature that this funding help implement a comprehensive vision for arts education at the local level to ensure that every pupil in the state benefits from this investment; and
WHEREAS, This funding is the first step in investing in quality visual and performing arts programs for all California pupils; and
WHEREAS, Many national and state professional arts education associations hold celebrations in the month of March, giving California schools a unique opportunity to focus on the value of the arts for all pupils, foster cross-cultural understanding, give recognition to the state’s outstanding young artists, and enhance public support for this essential part of the curriculum; and
WHEREAS, The visual and performing arts have a unique ability to communicate the ideas and emotions of the human spirit and connect us to our history, heritage, and culture. They foster creativity, critical thinking, and collaborative skills. Beyond the classroom, the arts engender humanity and citizenship, which contribute to the vitality of communities and enrichment of the larger world. Every student has a right to a well-rounded education that includes the arts and the benefits it brings; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims the month of March 2020 as Arts Education Month, urges all residents to become interested in and give full support to quality school arts programs for children and youth; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
