Hill Day 2025

On June 11, nearly 300 national and state MEA leaders and collegiate students will be on Capitol Hill to advocate for music education and policies to support the music teaching profession. There is power in numbers, and you can lend your voice to the 2025 NAfME Hill Day by participating in our virtual campaign.

This campaign includes a template message for your letter to Congress, but we encourage you to personalize your message and share why YOU support arts education.

EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATORS bit.ly/NAfMEHD25Campaign

We are urging Congress to oppose the Trump administration’s FY 2026 budget proposal, which would cut more than $12 billion (15.3%) from programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). While the budget “preserves funding for Title I” and provides a small increase to special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, it cuts K–12 funding by more than $4.5 billion below FY 2025 and eliminates programs aimed at strengthening the teaching profession. It also proposes a new K–12 Simplified Funding Program that consolidates 18 competitive and formula grant programs into a new $2 billion formula grant, which “allows States and districts to focus on the core subjects-math, reading, science, and history-without the distractions of DEI and weaponization from the previous administration.”

Programs aimed at providing all students access to music education are already feeling the results of denied funding.

Specifically, we urge Congress to prioritize the following in FY 2026:

  • Title I, Part A-Fund at $18.67 billion to support schools serving a high population of low-income students.
  • Title II, Part A-Fund at $2.19 billion to strengthen teacher preparation, recruitment and retention.
  • Title IV, Part A-Fund $1.6 billion for Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants, a flexible block grant that can be used to support a well-rounded education among other activities.
  • Assistance for Arts Education Program-Fund at $40 million to promote arts education for all.
  • National Endowment for the Arts-Fund at $209 million to support partnerships between arts institutions and K-12 schools and institutions of higher education.
  • August F. Hawkins Centers for Excellence Program-Fund at $30 million to support teacher preparation programs at historically black colleges and universities.
  • Teacher Quality Partnership Program-Fund at $1 billion to ensure future educators have access to comprehensive teacher preparation programs and residencies.

We also encourage Congress to pass the bipartisan Arts Education for All Act (H.R. 5463), which was introduced by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01) and Don Bacon (R-NE-02). The bill would expand access to high-quality arts education including the arts in school improvement plans and school and district report cards, support high-quality certification pathways for future arts educators, and fund rigorous research on effective arts education practices.

SEND A MESSAGE TO CONGRESS bit.ly/NAfMEHD25Campaign

Join in the social media campaign!

There is power in numbers, and you can lend your voice to the 2025 NAfME Hill Day by participating in our virtual campaign. Here’s all you need to get started-share widely with your networks to make a big impact ahead of and during NAfME Hill Day!

GET THE SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLKIT https://nafme.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/NAfME-Virtual-Hill-Day-Social-Media-Toolkit.pdf

Be sure to tag @NAfME and use the hashtags: #NAfMEHillDay and #ShareTheMusic.

 

Michigan Schedule