Arts Access for All: Lowell Mason Arts Education Equity Act (Bill H.4297)

An initiative to expand public Arts Education in Massachusetts

Why the Arts matter for everyone

The Arts are for everyone

• The Arts are fundamental to human expression, building empathy, creativity, and critical thinking.
• The Arts strengthen communities, drive economic growth, and serve as a record of civilization.
• The Arts improve mental health and provide an essential tool for communication, education, and cultural understanding

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, 2015

The Arts cover a diverse range of disciplines

Outlined in the 2019 Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework, the Arts includes five disciplines:

• Music
• Visual Arts
• Theatre
• Media Arts
• Dance

The Arts promote student engagement, belonging, and academic success

• The Arts have widespread support.
  92% of Americans believe every student should have access to Arts Education. (Source: Americans for the Arts, 2024)
• The Arts improve academic success.
  Studies show that students who engage with Arts courses increase performance on standardized test scores (Source: Americans for the Arts, 2024)
• The Arts engage students.
  A Boston Public School study found that for each student who took an arts course, their attendance increased a third of a day over a full school year. This effect increased to 1.1 days for students who have been chronically absent. High school students with high Arts participation and low socioeconomic status are also 5 times less likely to dropout than their peers with no arts involvement.. (Sources: Edvester, 2021; National Endowment for the Arts, 2012)
• The Arts create equity.
  A groundbreaking study took place in an urban district, where 86% of students were eligible for free/reduced lunch, and demonstrated that the Arts can contribute to closing achievement gaps. (Source: the “Houston Study”, ArtsEdSearch, 2019/2022)

What the Lowell Mason Arts Education Equity Act does (and does not) do

The Lowell Mason Act provides additional Arts Education funding for each school district

The Lowell Mason Arts Education Equity Act (Bill H.4297) gives every public school student in Massachusetts access to high-quality Arts Education. The Act guarantees that an additional 1% of each district’s foundation budget will be added to its calculated MA state school aid (“Chapter 70”) and earmarked solely for Arts Education.

The Lowell Mason Act expands, not replaces, Arts Education in each district

The additional funds from the Lowell Mason Act expands, not replaces, Arts Education in each district. The new funds cannot be used to support current art educators, existing art programs, or non-art programs.

The Lowell Mason Act does not raise property local taxes

The Lowell Mason Act does not raise local property taxes. Instead, it increases the state aid by 1% of the existing foundation budget to be used exclusively for Arts Education. Funding for the Act will come from the Fair Share Funding, Massachusetts Lottery-Gaming receipts, or Student Opportunity Act Funding.

The Lowell Mason Act will impact Arts education now, not later

If passed, the Lowell Mason Act will take effect on July 1 following the passing of the bill.

What the Lowell Mason Arts Education Equity Act funds could provide

The Lowell Mason Arts Education Equity Act provides each school district with additional Arts Education funding, equal to a 1% of its foundation budget. The majority of the funds will go towards salaries of new Arts educators. The additional funds can also support professional development for Arts educators, purchases of supplies and equipment, and curricular and co-curricular programs.

Here are illustrative examples of what additional Arts funding could look like in your district:

FAQ

Help us get the Lowell Mason Arts Education Equity Act passed!