Advocacy Update 

NAEA Advocating for Visual Arts Educators and Learners

NAEA continues to work with the Arts Education Alliance to champion arts education at a national level.  

NAEA Signs On to the Loan Forgiveness for Educators Act  

Along with more than 60 organizations, NAEA signed on to the Loan Forgiveness for Educators Act, reintroduced last month by U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.). If adopted, this legislation will update the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program to have the federal government pay the monthly federal loan bills of educators as they teach in high-need schools or early education programs, and then completely retire any remaining debt after 5 years of service. Moreover, the bill ensures that school leaders and Early Childhood Education teachers and directors, in addition to K-12 teachers, are eligible for these benefits.  

Advocating for Title II, Part A Funding

NAEA is one of the many national and state education organizations who signed on to a letter to leaders of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (a subcommittee of the United States Committee on Appropriations) urging their support for educators and students by increasing funding for Title II, Part A, by $210 million in FY 2027 appropriations. Title II-A funding addresses critical and immediate educational needs, including the educator shortage crisis.