NAMM Advocacy Coalition Updates

“State and District ESSER Plans

Do you know what is in your local school district’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund plan?  The U.S. Department of Education recently posted an accessible database containing ARP ESSER plans every state and most districts in the country.

Many plans contain specific elements in support of music education.  A few examples: Harlan County School District (KY) will use ESSER funds to provide Band Instruments for all grades to expand their existing offering of music and art classes, Bison School District (SD) will use ESSER funds to enhance online music programs and Stillwater Central School District (NY) will use the federal funds to replace the carpet in the music room.

Follow these simple steps to find your state or district’s plan today.

1. Visit the U.S. Department of Education’s ARP ESSER State Plans site hereand find your state.
2. Review your state’s ESSER plan under the column titled “Approved State Materials (Final ARP ESSER State Plan, Approval Letter), or local educational agency plans under the column titled “LEA Plans for Use of ARP ESSER Funding.”
3. Search for terms such as “music education,” or “performing arts” in submitted state and local plans.

Late last month, the Department announced that every SEA received approval of their ARP ESSER plan before the end of December 2021. As a result, the Department has distributed all $122 billion of ARP ESSER funds to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

These funds are critical to helping states and local districts safely keep schools open for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, including responding to recent challenges arising from the Omicron variant. As of last month, with the help of ARP funds, about 96% of K-12 public schools were open for full-time, in-person instruction. The Department also recently issued a new resource to state and local leaders stressing the importance of full-time, safe, in-person learning and how federal funds can be used to achieve that goal.

Constantly evolving: As states amend their plans to reflect additional required information and changes as their strategies evolve, updated state plans will continue to be posted on the Department’s website.

For more on this and other important policy updates, register here to view our Pocketbook Policy Update Webinar, this Thursday, March 3^rd at 11 am Pacific / 2 pm Eastern.  The event will be recorded and posted on NAMM.org afterward.

NAMM 2022 Advocacy Fly-In Postponed

Since many members of congress are not scheduling in-person meetings at this time, we have made the decision to postpone the 2022 Advocacy Fly In originally planned for May of 2022 and are in the process of rescheduling to available dates in the fall of 2023.  Standby for updates.

NAMM Show 2022

Plans are being finalized now for the 2022 NAMM Show, June 3-5, in Anaheim California, and we are so excited to be offering more content for Music Educators than at any previous NAMM Show.  In addition to our premier events like The Grand Rally for Music Education and our Support Music Coalition / Music Education Leadership Summit and all the great tools for music educators, our educator attendees will have access to free professional development covering topics from Technology in Music Ed, to how to take your Guitar or Ukulele program to the next level and much more. Please help us to spread the work to the Music Educators in your network.  Editable sample promotional copy is below:

Music Educators! NAMM Welcomes you to attend the 2022 NAMM Show in beautiful sunny southern California this June 3-5. Music Education Days at the NAMM Show offers K-12 music teachers and school administrators informative sessions, inspiring performances, and the opportunity to preview the latest instruments, products, and tools relevant to today’s music classrooms.  Sign up here today.  

Aerosol Study Guidance and Educator Survey

As we mentioned last week, music educators in your network are urged to participate in the Music Program – COVID Check In #2  hosted by NFHS, to identify and track how music programs across the United States have been impacted during the COVID pandemic. Participation in this survey will provide valuable, timely insights that will help inform ways to better support music programs. To be eligible to complete the survey, an educator must have taught or directed a K-12 or collegiate music program in the United States from August 1st – December 15th, 2021.

If you forwarded this information previously, thank you.  If you haven’t had a chance, there is still time. The deadline to complete the survey is the close of business, today. This survey will not collect any personal information and is completely anonymous.  The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete.

All respondents are asked to go through the provided web link due to survey standards; as everyone needs to have the opportunity to read the participation statement prior to starting the survey. The survey and additional resources can also be found on the Aerosol Coalition Page.

We can’t wait to see you all again in Anaheim this Summer and we remain grateful for everything you are doing every day to keep music education strong.

Sincerely,

Mary Luehrsen
Director, Public Affairs and Government Relations, NAMM

PS: Two new NAMM Foundation advocacy resources”

The Cost of a Quality Music Education 

Music and the Arts’ effect on student absenteeism