The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is up for renewal this year. Will Congress have the guts to make the changes needed to help save music education in our schools?
Five years ago music educators across the United States began bracing for bad news. There were very few in the music education community that believed that the new No Child Left Behind Act could bring about anything but pain and anguish for music education programs in the public schools. Despite repeated cries for its repeal, the NCLB seems destined to be reauthorized this year. This comes even as members of Congress openly admit that the NCLB has been less than kind to music education, forcing school districts to to make financial decisions between the core curriculum and the fine arts. Traditionally music has lost these battles.
Today, there is a bright spot on the horizon. More and more often the realization that the NCLB Act has serious flaws is coming to light. Several members of Congress have come out and stated that they will not vote to approve any extension of the NCLB unless it is amended in some way to reduce this negative impact on the arts. In an excellent article by journalist Daniel Axelrod, many of the complaints against the NCLB and its effect on music education are detailed, as well as some interesting statistics on the negative impact the NCLB has had on music education in general.
