GAAME Act of 2026

This section would give the Act two short titles it could be cited by: the "Guarantee Access to Arts and Music Education Act of 2026" and the "GAAME Act of 2026."

This section would amend section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314) by adding a new item, subclause (VI), to the list of strategies at section 1114(b)(7)(A)(iii): 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. It would also make a conforming punctuation edit to subclauses (IV) and (V) of that list to accommodate the new subclause. It would add a definition stating that, for purposes of this new arts education item, the term arts means dance, media arts, theater, and visual arts.

This section would further amend 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, by inserting a new subclause (VII) after the arts education subclause added by section 2. The new subclause would add sequential, standards-based music education, aligned to challenging State academic standards and taught by certified music educators (as defined by the State), to the same list of schoolwide program strategies.

This section would amend section 1115(b)(2)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6315(b)(2)(A)), which covers targeted assistance school plans, by replacing the existing reference to a "well-rounded education" with "well-rounded education, such as" followed by a new clause (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. It would also add a definition stating that, for purposes of this new clause, the term arts means dance, media arts, theater, and visual arts.

This section would further amend 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, by adding a new clause (ii) after the arts programmatic-assistance clause: 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.