12 Education Policy
Martina Vasil
In recent years, the teaching profession has been in the thick of political debates and new laws. It can be hard to know which way is up during this time. This chapter serves to summarize some recent developments in education policy and provides recommendations for how to navigate it all.
Music Education for All Children
In 2015, Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which stated that music is essential to a student’s education. This was a change from the No Child Left Behind Act, which was narrowly focused on academic achievement in a few subjects, such as reading and math.
Looking even further back in US educational policy history, the ESSA is considered the new version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was originally signed into law by President Johnson in 1965. The purpose of ESEA was to provide additional funding and programs to serve low-income students (typically in what they call Title I schools) and allow state and local agencies (like state MEAs and school districts) to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education. The current ESSA is similar. The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) has provided a toolkit here, if you are interested in learning more.
See below for passages from ESSA about music. You can also read the whole thing here.
Sec. 8002. DEFINITIONS
Section 8101, as redesignated and amended by section 8001 of this Act, is further amended—
(21) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(52) WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION.—The term ‘well-rounded education’ means courses, activities, and programming in subjects such as English, reading or language arts, writing, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, geography, computer science, music, career and technical education, health, physical education, and any other subject, as determined by the State or local educational agency, with the purpose of providing all students access to an enriched curriculum and educational experience.’’
SEC. 4104. STATE USE OF FUNDS
(b) STATE ACTIVITIES.—Each State that receives an allotment under section 4103 shall use the funds available under subsection (a)(3) for activities and programs designed to meet the purposes of this subpart, which may include—
(3) supporting local educational experiences to all students, as described in section 2107, including female students, minority students, English learners, children with disabilities, and low-income students who are often underrepresented in critcial and enriching subjects, which may include—
(i) increasing student access to and improving student engagement and achievement in—
(II) activities and programs in music and the arts;
SEC. 4107. ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
(a) IN GENERAL—Subject to section 4106(f), each local educational agency, or consortium of such agencies, that receives an allocation under section 4105(a) shall use a portion of such funds to develop and implement programs and activities that support access to a well-rounded
18 education and that—
(3) may include programs and activities, such as—
(B) programs and activities that use music and the arts as tools to support student success through the promotion of constructive student engagement, problem solving, and conflict resolution;
Critical Race Theory
I bring Critical Race Theory (CRT) into this chapter, because it’s been the focus of many discussions surrounding education recently.
CRT began with legal scholars in the late 1970s, such as Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado. The theory encompasses the following points:
- Race is a social construct, not a biological attribute. That is, societies determine what one thinks of race.
- Racism is embedded within systems and institutions, it is codified in laws.
- Race intersects with other identities (e.g., sex, class ability, see Chapter 2).
- The lived experiences of racially minoritized groups should be recognized in challenging inequities.
- Claims of neutrality, meritocracy, and colorblindness are rejected.
Example: Racism is embedded within systems and institutions, it is codified in laws.
The United States has a history of implementing laws that deliberately created racial inequality.
- Slavery
- Jim Crow Laws
- The Chinese exclusion act of 1882
- The 1953 Indian termination policy
Even though these laws and practices have been repealed or terminated, they have contributed to continued racism in housing, education, and employment today.
CRT was first introduced to the field of education in the mid-1990s by scholars such as Gloria Ladson-Billings, William Tate, and Daniel G. Solórzano. CRT was used as a framework for discussions and a tool for analysis and critiques of education.
So what does this have to do with music education? Music education in the US is built upon the idea that Western classical music is superior to other types of music. Examine your own college curriculum. Participation in large ensembles found in Western music (i.e., band, choirs, and orchestras) is required, yet ensembles from Eastern cultures such as gamelan or Korean drumming are not. Reading notation is prioritized over learning music by ear. Even music history classes heavily focus on Western classical music.
Unfortunately, CRT has been used as a “catch-all” by politicians and legislators to enact bans on any teaching practices concerning race. When teachers consider the many identities they and their students hold and seek to know and celebrate the differences in their classrooms, it is more than likely that race, culture, and many other aspects of students’ lives will be discussed.
Students can face many inequalities in their lives and this can appear as the music and cultures that are represented in music classrooms. How do teachers offer a counter narrative to a curriculum that tends to prioritize Western classical music? How can music teachers help students embrace diversity and learning about others and to see things differently? How can music teachers enlarge students’ musical experiences and help them to be more openminded?
Key Takeaway
Multiple traditions and our students’ voices should be valued not because they represent fairness and equity but because they empower students’ agency and afford the opportunities to enlarge and enrich our students’ capacities as well as our own. ~Liu, 2022, p. 26
Divisive Concepts Laws
Divisive concepts laws (DLC) are policies that restrict the discussion of race, gender, sexuality, and aspects of US history in K–12 curriculum and professional development. The term was borrowed from an executive order that listed “divisive concepts” that could not be included in the training of federal employees and contractors.
Since 2020, over 20 states and school districts have enacted DLC. The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) completed a report on DLC and music education in 2023. Participants were NAfME members. Here are the results:
Music teachers were split on their views of DLC. Half were not directly affected because their state didn’t have DLC, they don’t think music has divisive content, that social identities are irrelevant in music education, they have control over what they teach, they agree with the laws, or they refuse to follow the laws.
Music teachers thought that DCL were vague and confusing. Everyone interprets them differently, this includes teachers, students, parents, administrators, and community members. Thus teachers self-censored because they were afraid of the repercussions from various interpretations. DCL are also implemented inconsistently, adding to confusion. Most music teachers who responded to the survey shared that DLC restricted their curriculum, repertoire, and topics discussed in class. They felt that they were restricted in creating a sense of belonging in their classroom and were less able to ensure all students felt seen and heard.
Music teachers thought DLC made it difficult to build and maintain relationships with students. Teachers were also concern with students’ well-being. The well-being of teachers was also affected—the political environment on education was impacting teacher stress level and job satisfaction. Some teachers shared their plans to leave teaching altogether, that they knew people who left, and that they noticed it was harder to find new teachers.
Suggestions
So now what? Salvador (2023) offers these four suggestions for how to handle DCL:
- Know the laws in your district and state. Get to know the laws and policies that will affect you once you have your first job. This book and articles cannot give you legal counsel.
- Learn the concepts and communicate within your school. After you learn about laws and policies, focus on understanding the concepts targeted by the laws. As I mentioned earlier about Critical Race Theory (CRT), many people misunderstand what certain concepts are. This also includes misunderstanding social-emotional learning (SEL). Learn about concepts like CRT, SEL, Universal Design for Learning, and culturally responsive pedagogy well and you will see that they do not necessarily violate DCL.
- Decide level of visibility. How do you want to discuss your music curriculum, repertoire choices, and class topics? Will you make a point to use terms that are misunderstood or do you want to use more general terms? There is no one answer. It depends on you and the community you will be teaching in. The most important thing is that you do what’s best for your students in your classroom, that every students feels seen and heard, and that you expand students understanding of music in the world and each other. You want to teach in a way that builds on student knowledge and strengths, responds to and respects their cultures, and broadens their experiences and understandings of music.
- Communicate. Have good communication with your principal and allies. Be prepared to educate your parents and community about why and how you teach. Performances are a good opportunity to show learning objectives and explain how repertoire was chosen. Some people may not agree but a complaint is not the same as violating a law.
References
Liu, C-W. (2022). What does Critical Race Theory have to do with music education? Journal of General Music Education, 35(3), 25–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/27527646211061
National Association for Music Education (2023). Everything ESSA. https://nafme.org/advocacy/everything-essa/
Salvador, K. (2023, July). What music educators need to know about divisive concepts laws. School, Band, and Orchestra Plus Magazine, p. 16.