* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Dorsey
A Resolution Entitled
A Council Resolution concerning
title
The Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education - Arts Education
For the purpose of requesting that the Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education include arts education as part of the base educational funding formula to enable local educational systems to comply with the Code of Maryland Regulations (“COMAR”) 13A.04.16.
body
Recitals
On October 18, 2018, the Baltimore City Council Youth and Education Committee held a public hearing on the status of arts education in the Baltimore City Public School System (“BCPSS”). At the public hearing, BCPSS staff, as well as students, parents, and community members testified about the lack of arts education BCPSS students receive. Only 78% of pre-kindergarten through 8th grade students are enrolled in the visual arts, and only 53% of pre-kindergarten through 8th grader students are enrolled in music. Less than 7% of students are enrolled in dance or theater courses. In Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties, every pre-kindergarten through 8th grade student receives instruction in the visual arts and music by certified teachers every year.
The inequity between the education BCPSS students receive and the education that students from the counties receive is partially due to deficient state-wide funding. The State has found that BCPSS should receive an additional $290-35...
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