Special education students in four Michigan school districts will have the arts as part of their curriculum this year through Michigan Arts and Culture Council’s Arts in Education grants. Clawson Public Schools Autism Programs, Cheboygan Otsego Presque Isle Education Service District, Gratiot Isabella Regional Education Service District and Marquette Regional Education Service District each received funding to partner with Michigan Arts Access to provide equitable arts instruction for all of their special education students. The students will experience dance, music, theatre and the visual arts through MiAA’s Artist-in-Residence program.
Most people do not know that the vast majority of special education students do not receive any arts instruction in school. We believe this is a serious equity issue, since all general education students receive ongoing art and music instruction in elementary school, and have a variety of arts options to choose from in middle school and high school. Michigan Arts Access is the only organization in the state dedicated to providing access to the arts for all people with disabilities, and the only organization trying to fill this equity gap in education.
There are around 20,000 students serviced by the ISD special education programs each year. MiAA provides arts instruction to about 1,000 of those students, so we still have a long way to go to go. The more funding we have, the more students we can reach. We are grateful to the community foundations of Gratiot County, Mount Pleasant and Otsego County for stepping up to the plate. Most people are surprised to learn that it only costs about $1,800 per year for us to provide arts instruction in one classroom. We set a 3 year goal to raise $250,000 per year, which would allow us to double the number of classrooms we serve and students we reach. To reach all of the ISD students, however, it will cost nearly three million dollars per year. This is a large number, but when considering that it would pay for instruction in 20,000 students, the cost is only $150 per student per year. Furthermore, three million is only a fraction of what it currently costs to provide arts instruction in 2,000 general education classrooms.
To learn more about how to bring the arts to your special education classroom, contact MiAA Executive Director, Dr. Michael Gielniak at michael@miartsaccess.org.
To ensure an equitable arts education for all students in special education classes in Michigan, make your donation here.