[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7855 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7855

 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to expand 
 access to school-wide arts and music programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2026

 Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mrs. McIver, Ms. 
      Norton, Ms. Titus, Mr. Davis of Illinois, and Mr. Evans of 
Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to expand 
 access to school-wide arts and music programs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Guarantee Access to Arts and Music 
Education Act of 2026'' or the ``GAAME Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. SCHOOL-WIDE ACCESS TO ARTS EDUCATION.

    Section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 6314) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(7)(A)(iii)--
                    (A) in subclauses (IV) and (V), by striking ``; 
                and'' and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(VI) sequential, standards-based 
                                arts education taught by certified arts 
                                educators (as defined by the State) and 
                                community arts providers to meet the 
                                challenging State academic standards; 
                                and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Definition of Arts.--For purposes of subsection 
(b)(7)(A)(iii)(VI), the term `arts' means dance, media arts, theater, 
and visual arts.''.

SEC. 3. SCHOOL-WIDE ACCESS TO MUSIC EDUCATION.

    Section 1114(b)(7)(A)(iii) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314(b)(7)(A)(iii)), as amended by 
section (2), is further amended by inserting after subclause (VI) the 
following:
                                    ``(VII) sequential, standards-based 
                                music education that is aligned to 
                                challenging State academic standards 
                                and is taught by certified music 
                                educators (as defined by the State); 
                                and''.

SEC. 4. TARGETED ASSISTANCE SCHOOLS FOR ARTS EDUCATION.

    Section 1115 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 6315) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by striking ``well-rounded 
        education;'' inserting the following: ``well-rounded education, 
        such as--
                            ``(i) programmatic assistance for students 
                        to participate in arts programs that address 
                        their academic needs (including support for 
                        certified arts educators (as defined by the 
                        State), arts educator professional development, 
                        supplies, and other expenses associated with 
                        instruction in the arts); and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Definition of Arts.--For purposes of subsection (b)(2)(A)(i), 
the term `arts' means dance, media arts, theater, and visual arts.''.

SEC. 5. TARGETED ASSISTANCE SCHOOLS FOR MUSIC EDUCATION.

    Section 1115(b)(2)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6315(b)(2)(A)), as amended by section 4, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(ii) programmatic assistance for students 
                        to participate in music programs that address 
                        their academic needs (including support for 
                        certified music educators, music educator 
                        professional development, instruments, sheet 
                        music, music technology, and other expenses 
                        associated with music instruction);''.
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