NASBE Partners with AEP on Arts Education Policy Portal

The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) is collaborating with the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) to create an online arts education resource designed to help state boards of education develop evidence-based policy.

NASBE will base the new web portal on AEP's Arts Education State Policy Database and ArtsEdSearch, through which state board members will be able to easily access educational information about how the arts can support general education policy goals. For instance, if a state board is working on new high school graduation requirements, members and staff can use the web page to find research and policies that include the arts as a critical part of a student's education.

"The arts not only enrich our social and emotional lives, they provide rare and special avenues to develop skills we need and use every day," said NASBE Executive Director Jim Kohlmoos. "As state boards develop new and innovative evidence-based education policies, it is incumbent on them to consider every avenue to student success. We are excited to partner with AEP to help make arts education part of those efforts."

"Evidence and action - within policymaking - is a powerful combination in ensuring the arts remain an essential part of a complete education for every young person in America," said AEP Director Sandra Ruppert. AEP "and NASBE's collaboration comes at an exciting crossroads in education reform, and we look forward to helping state boards understand the role of the arts as a gateway to learning and student success."

The webpage will be hosted on NASBE's website, and will also be linked to AEP's site. When the portal is completed in the second quarter of 2013, NASBE and AEP will host a webinar open to all to guide potential users through the webpage and the two databases.

The initiative is made possible by funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to NASBE.

The National Association of State Boards of Education represents America's state and territorial boards of education. NASBE exists to strengthen State Boards as the preeminent educational policymaking bodies for citizens and students. For more, visit www.nasbe.org.

AEP, www.aep-arts.org, is a national coalition of more than 100 education, arts, business, cultural, government, and philanthropic organizations. AEP was established in 1995 through a unique interagency agreement between the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education.