We just received an update from Representative Chris Stewart's office in Washington D.C. that the ESEA reauthorization is coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives this week.  They have already received phone calls from school districts opposing it, but would like to hear from educators as well. 

Let Washington hear from YOU!  Below is contact information for our Utah Representatives and the original announcement about the bill with Senator contact information included.

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Sincerely, Your UMEA Executive Board, working for YOU

Representatives:

Chris Stewart

(202) 225-9730

 Mia Love

(202) 225-3011

 Jason Chaffetz

(202) 225-7751

 Rob Bishop

(202) 225-0453

Dear UMEA Members and State Music Teachers,

 I had the opportunity to attend NAfME meetings in Washington D.C., June 25-28, where I learned that the time has now come for music education to find its place in the curriculum as a solid core subject.  The reauthorization of the "No Child Left Behind Act," now called the "Every Child Achieves Act of 2015," (S1177) is going to the floor of the Senate next week. If the Senate approves this act with a few amendments, it will move on to the House of Representatives, where this bipartisan legislation has a very good chance of approval. Dave Fullmer and I visited all the offices of our senators and representatives while in Washington D.C., asking for their support of including music and the arts as core subjects.  Each office was especially supportive of our message.

I have received notification of added explanation and a request from the office of NAfME.  Alexandra Eaton, Legislative Policy Advisor for NAfME, explained the following:

 Next week, on July 7th, the Senate will bring to the floor its draft reauthorization for No Child Left Behind.  As you may be aware, this draft bill, for the first time in history, enumerates music as a core academic subject, which we believe will GREATLY strengthen access to music programs nationwide.
 
In addition, when the bill goes to the Senate floor, Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin (D) and Mark Kirk of Illinois (R) will introduce a bipartisan amendment on "resource equity."  This amendment would require states to develop a plan to remedy reporting inequities across school districts. A new indicator would be added, requiring states to report on access to ALL core academic subjects, including music.  States would be required to report on these indicators and would then work with school districts to develop plans that would include benchmarks intended to address such disparities.  These indicators, on access to music, have never been collected on a national scale, and having them will allow us to get a clearer picture of which students are getting high-quality music education (and which ones are not) as well as to create targeted strategies to improve access where it is needed most.
 
We urge you to contact your Senator and ask them to support S.1177 – the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 (the name of the reauthorization bill) when it goes to the floor. We also urge you to ask them to support the Baldwin-Kirk amendment on resource equity.
 
A sample phone or email text is as follows:
"Hi, I'm calling the Senator to ask her/him to support S.1177 next week and to vote to pass the bill, including the enumeration of core academic subjects. I also ask her/him to support the resource equity amendment from Senators Baldwin and Kirk that will require states to report on access to all core subjects."
 
Sincerely,
 
Alexandra Eaton
Legislative Policy Advisor
National Association for Music Education
 
 As music educators, I encourage you to call the offices of Senators Hatch and Lee this week and leave a simple message, stating your support for the acknowledgement of music in Utah's core curriculum. As we visited the office of Congressman Chris Stewart, one of his staff members, Tim Robison, explained that every phone call, email, and letter is recorded and listened to without exception and bears great significance in how our representatives respond. He also explained that short messages are terrific - there is no need to chat but simply leave your message that will take about 30 seconds. With this situation, I would recommend that everyone simply make a phone call and leave a message. As you call, you will be chatting with someone in the senate offices AND making a difference. Thereafter, we will look forward to this bill making its way through to the House of Representatives. It is time to rally round this request and show our colors in support of this legislation. Thanks in advance for your focus on this very important issue.  I have listed the direct phone numbers of each of our Senators below.  I will be very excited to hear of the response you receive as you call Washington D.C.  We have seen the results of music being treated as a secondary part of our children’s education in the state for far too long.

 
Sincerely,

Greg Wheeler, PhD

President - UMEA

 Utah Senator's Contact Information

Senators:

 Orin Hatch

(202) 224-5251

 Mike Lee

(202) 224-5444