The Status of Arts Education in Ohio's Public ... - Ohio Arts Council

Key Finding: Complete lack of access to arts education during the school day is more
prevalent among Ohio’s community schools and major urban districts.
Thirty-nine percent of the community schools that
reported enrollment data to ODE in 2009-2010 had zero
students enrolled in arts courses compared to 3 percent
of traditional public schools (Figure 2). Moreover, 19
percent of community schools reported enrollment in
only one arts discipline compared to 4 percent of
traditional public schools.
Community schools are authorized to
operate under a different section of law
(ORC §3314) and do not have a
prescribed curriculum or a
requirement to provide instruction in
the fine arts.
Figure 2: Percentage of Schools with at Least One Student Enrolled in an Arts Course
Community Schools
61%
Traditional Public Schools
97%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
As Table 3 shows, most high-poverty schools provide access to arts education, but 10 percent of
schools in major urban districts with very high poverty (Type 5) reported zero students enrolled
in the arts.
Table 3: Access To Arts Education By School Type
Ohio’s Public School District Types
Arts
Enrollment
1. Rural/Agricultural – high poverty, low median income 98%
2. Rural/Agricultural – small student population, low poverty, lowto-moderate
median income
98%
3. Rural/Small Town – moderate-to-high median income 97%
4. Urban – low median income, high poverty 97%
5. Major Urban – very high poverty 90%
6. Urban/Suburban – high median income 98%
7. Urban/Suburban – very high median income, very low poverty 92%
8. Unclassified schools 79%
Status of Arts Education in Ohio’s Public Schools 20