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For number 38 we wanted to share with you some incredible news about the passing of Every Student Succeeds Act! Check out the news below:

NAMM Applauds Congress for Passage of Every Student Succeeds Act Including Music as Part of a Well-Rounded Education
Following years of steady advocacy from NAMM and hundreds of NAMM Members, Congress sends the President a new federal education bill that represents an important shift in federal education policy.

Carlsbad, Calif. (December 9, 2015) More school-aged children nationwide will have access to music and the arts, thanks to Congress inclusion of both subject areas as part of a well-rounded education in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, December 9, 2015, with a vote of 85 to 12 and now heads to the Presidents desk.

In addition to explicitly listing music in the components of a well-rounded education, Every Student Succeeds Act also protects students music and arts class time and provides new opportunities for music and arts education through formula funding grants. The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), hundreds of NAMM Members and music industry leaders have spent years meeting with Congressional leaders on the importance that every child has access to music in schools. Today Congress has shown that it too believes in music as part of a well-rounded education that should be available to all students.

We are grateful for the army of NAMM member advocates who have contributed to thousands of meetings with Members of Congress over the years. They successfully drove the point home that music education is a vital element in a complete education for all children, said Mary Luehrsen, director of government affairs for NAMM. With this new legislation, we will expand our advocacy efforts around the belief that indeed, every child succeeds with an opportunity to learn and grow with music.

NAMM specifically commends members of the ESEA conference committee, members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and the House Education and the Workforce Committee, for advancing legislation that will create new opportunities for a well-rounded education for all students. The reauthorization of the “Every Student Succeeds Act, will replace 2002s No Child Left Behind Act.

The new bills inclusion of music and arts in the definition of a Well-Rounded Education marks an unprecedented step forward for music education, as it connects to a variety of significant other provisions in Every Student Succeeds Act.

Protecting Students Class Time: protection for students struggling in other academic areas from being pulled from music and arts courses in favor of remedial education. The bill emphasizes the importance of classroom time within these courses, helping to ensure that students are provided with an equally meaningful learning opportunity.

Federal Grant Opportunities: opportunities for music and arts education through formula funding grants in Title IV. States receiving formula grants must use those funds for purposes of carrying out particular state activities, including offering Well-Rounded educational experiences, such as music, to under-represented, disadvantaged, or minority students. The bill specifically notes activities and programs in music and arts as appropriate uses of formula grants.

For the last decade, NAMM members have invested their time on Capitol Hill with U.S. Senators and Representatives to advocate for music education. As the bill began to work through both houses of Congress, NAMM mobilized its membership and the SupportMusic Coalition to call, tweet and write to their legislators, supporting music educations inclusion in passage of the final version.

The President is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming days. NAMM will continue to work to monitor and advocate for equity and access to music education as the new federal policy is implemented. Please followhttps://www.namm.org/public-affairs/articles/track-esea-reauthorization-bill for the latest.

NOTE: NAMM is an industry only event, see if you qualify for NAMM membership at https://www.namm.org/membership

For more details on NAMM 2016, visit their website at https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2016

About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit organization funded in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 9,900 members. The Foundations mission is to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs. For more information about the NAMM Foundation, please visit www.nammfoundation.org.

Stay tuned as we countdown to NAMM 2016!