SCR 112, as introduced, Fuller. Arts Education Month.
This measure would proclaim March 2016 to be Arts Education Month and would encourage all elected officials to participate with their educational communities in celebrating the arts.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, Arts education, which includes dance, music,
2theatre, and the visual arts, is an essential and integral part of basic
3education for all pupils in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades
41 to 12, inclusive; and
5WHEREAS, The arts are crucial to achieving a state educational
6policy that is devoted to the teaching of basic academic skills and
7lifelong learning capacities with the goal of truly preparing all
8children for success after high school regardless of gender, age,
9economic status, physical ability, or learning ability; and
10WHEREAS, A systematic, substantive, and sequential visual
11and performing arts curriculum addresses and develops ways of
12thinking, questioning, expression, and learning that complement
13learning in other core subjects, but that is unique in what it has to
14offer; and
P2 1WHEREAS, Pupils benefit from arts learning in the areas of
2cultural understanding, readiness for learning and creative thinking,
3cognitive outcomes, emotional intelligence and expression, social
4interaction and collaboration, and preparation for the workplace
5and lifelong learning; and
6WHEREAS, Arts education in California is mandated for pupils
7in grades 1 to 12, inclusive, by Sections 51210 and 51220 of the
8Education Code, which provide, in part, “[t]he adopted course of
9study ... shall include instruction ... in ... [v]isual and performing
10arts, including instruction in the subjects of dance, music, theatre,
11and visual arts, aimed at the development of aesthetic appreciation
12and the skills of creative expression”; and
13WHEREAS, The arts are recognized as part of a quality
14education, and the University of California and the California State
15University have instituted a policy that includes visual and
16performing arts as a college preparatory subject for all high school
17pupils wishing to enter California’s institutions of higher education;
18and
19WHEREAS, Throughout the last 10 years, arts education
20programs have enjoyed significant investments by the State of
21California and continue to see support by the Legislature; and
22WHEREAS, It is the intent that this funding help implement a
23comprehensive vision for arts education at the local level, to ensure
24that every pupil in California benefits from this investment; and
25WHEREAS, This funding is the first step in investing in quality
26visual and performing arts programs for all California pupils; and
27WHEREAS, Many national and state professional arts education
28associations hold celebrations in the month of March, giving
29California schools a unique opportunity to focus on the value of
30the arts for all pupils, to foster cross-cultural understanding, to
31give recognition to the state’s outstanding young artists, and to
32enhance public support for this essential part of the curriculum;
33now, therefore, be it
34Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
35thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims the month of
36March 2016 as Arts Education Month and encourages all elected
37officials to participate with their educational communities in
38celebrating the arts with meaningful activities and programs for
39pupils, teachers, and the public that demonstrate learning and
40understanding in the visual and performing arts, and urges all
P3 1residents to become interested in and give full support to quality
2school arts programs for children and youth; and be it further
3Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
4this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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