H.R. 7855

[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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