gyer



Senator for New York Senator Gyer is in the Independent Party and caucuses with the Republican Party. She is in her second term. Before she was elected to the Senate she was a US Representative from Ithaca. She attended college at Yale University where she studied political science. She received her master degree from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Senator Gyer’s approach to representation is the Politico model. Her political ideology is Progressive with conservative fiscal ideas. Senator Gyer’s main issue concerns how education in the arts has suffered partly due to the No Child Left Behind Law that President Bush passed.





CURRENT BILL:

**111TH CONGRESS**
 * 2D Session**
 * S. 23**

Arts in Education for All
Sponsor: Senator Gyer

Cosponsors: Senators Vitter, Alexander, McCain, Hatch, Mikulski, Reed, and Bennett

SECTION 1: PURPOSE

1. This bill will require the US Department of Education to provide an education in the arts in all schools in the United States.

2. The bill will define the areas of arts to be provided and the level of materials to be covered at all levels of education.

3. The bill will define ways to measure the success of the act.

SECTION 2: FINDINGS

The “No Child Left Behind” education law identifies the arts as a core subject. In spite of this, the requirements for literacy in math and science force many local school districts to take money away from the arts. 1. Studies show that art-centered schools outscore non art-centered schools in academic achievement scores. It has been shown that art education can actually allows the brain to rewire itself, which can help build memory skills.

2. The state of New York has found that schools that show a commitment to music, theatre, dance, and visual arts education actually have a higher graduation rate. They have shown a correlation between certified arts teachers and graduation rates. The amount of dedicated arts classrooms is also directly related to graduation.

3. Independent studies have shown that as the years of art study increases there is a correlation with increased SAT verbal and math scores. The same studies have also shown the more arts classes taken, the higher the SAT scores. The studies show that students who have taken four years of arts outscore those who have no art by 58 points on the verbal test and 38 points on the math test.

SECTION 3: ELIGIBILITY

This bill will provide for funding of arts education in all elementary and secondary schools in the United States. These funds will be provided to public and private schools without distinction.

SECTION 4: TERMS AND BENEFITS

1. The program will be funded and administered through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). a. Applications for funding will be handled by the National Council on the Arts (NCA).

b. As an advisor to the chairman of the NEA, this organization will review all grant applications, set up different funding categories, and set the yearly budget for the program.

2. The NCA will develop objectives to monitor the program and develop minimum guidelines for participation in the program.

a. The NCA will develop leadership requirements in each state where the state program chairman will then review each individual program on a semiannual basis for compliance.

b. Each state chairman will produce an annual report that will be submitted to the NEA Office of Inspector General to be reviewed for compliance.

3. The state chairman must approve any variation from the original grant application.

4. All areas of art will be eligible for inclusion in the program. The programs will include but not be limited to music, dance, drama, painting, sculpture, video production, writing, poetry, play writing, and photography.

5. An artist in residence program will also be available by separate grant application. A separate plan and specific work to be accomplished must be included in the application.

6. The NEA will develop a public education campaign about the program in order make sure the public and educational institutions are aware of the availability of funds and requirements for participation in the program.