A Florida legislator has proposed new legislation to have the arts measured and assessed with other core subjects. An Editorial from Daytona Beach hits on some of the disturbing data that has led to this proposal:
An estimated 85 percent of Florida public school students took some sort of music class in 1985. By 2003, the number was down to 65 percent. The number of students who took visual arts classes slipped from 65 to 55 percent in the same period. Experts expect the numbers to be even worse as cost-cutting and test-taking impact public school classrooms.
Florida does include arts education in its Sunshine State Standards — the road map for public education in the state — but many advocates say they're not being met. Today, the House is expected to pass a bill sponsored by Rep. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, that would require the state Department of Education to track students' performance in comparison to the standards. The bill also requires the department to compare test scores for children who take arts classes to scores for those who don't.
Let's hope they are onto something!
The full story….
The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Editorials "For Arts Sake
