Dive Brief:

• A new report by South Arts uses qualitative and quantitative research to break down arts ed trends in K-12 public schools in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee
• The report, based on a survey of 4,400 K-12 principals, found that these states were more likely to offer classes on music (80%) and visual arts (71%) than on theater (22%) and dance (14%) — and the former two were more likely to meet higher measures of quality.  
• Limited budgets and time, as well as competing priorities, were the top three obstacles principals faced when trying to implement arts programs.  

Dive Insight:

Just over three quarters (77%) of the principals surveyed by the Atlanta-based, non-profit arts organization identified themselves as the primary decision-maker for their school offering arts education.

Some factors the principals felt would be helpful to increase arts education in their schools were increased funding for community and state arts organizations that fund arts education, increased availability of art equipment and supplies, more certified specialists for teaching the subjects, increased flexibility in scheduling, and more classroom spaces for these classes to be taught.  

The attitude of a district or state toward arts education also directly affected its implementation in schools, as the report found that when state standards included the arts, the likelihood of classes being offered doubled.