The AAE program includes the Arts in Education National Program (AENP) and is authorized under Title IV, part F, subpart 4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). In general, the purpose of the AAE program is to promote arts (as defined in this notice) education for students, including disadvantaged students and students who are children with disabilities (as defined in this notice). Specifically, the AENP supports national-level (as defined in this notice), high-quality arts education projects and services for children and youth, with special emphasis on serving children from low-income families (as defined in this notice) and children with disabilities through community and national outreach activities that strengthen and expand partnerships among schools, local educational agencies (LEAs), communities, or centers for the arts, including national centers for the arts.
The Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) program promotes arts education for students, including disadvantaged students and students who are children with disabilities, through activities such as (a) professional development for arts educators, teachers, and principals; (b) development and dissemination of accessible instructional materials and arts-based educational programming, including online resources, in multiple arts disciplines; and (c) community and national outreach activities that strengthen and expand partnerships among schools, local educational agencies (LEAs), communities, or centers for the arts, including national centers for the arts.
Priority: For FY 2022, the AAE competition includes one absolute priority and one competitive preference priority:
- Absolute Priority - One or more high-quality arts education projects that:
- support community and national outreach activities that strengthen and expand partnerships among schools, local educational agencies (LEAs), communities, or centers for the arts, including national centers for the arts;
- are designed to implement, or expand, initiatives in arts education and arts integration; and
- have a special emphasis on serving children from low- income families and children with disabilities. (To meet part 3 of this priority, applicants must submit supporting data identifying the population of students that meets the definition of ‘‘child from a low-income family'' and the population of students that meets the definition of ‘‘child with a disability.'')
- Competitive Preference Priority (10 points)- The Department gives priority to an eligible national nonprofit organization that has previously implemented a large-scale AENP project. (Applicants must clearly indicate if they are addressing the competitive preference priority and describe how they meet the priority in the project narrative of their application.)
In FY 2021, the U.S. Department of Education awarded approximately $17 million in new grants for the Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) grant program. Out of the 96 applications reviewed, 27 grants were funded, representing 15 states. For more information about these awards and other past competitions, visit https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-discretionary-grants-support-services/well-rounded-education-programs/assistance-for-arts-education/2021-aae-awards/
Note: The Federal Government has transitioned from the use of the DUNS Number to the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) as the primary means of entity identification for Federal awards government-wide. UEIs are required in accordance with 2 CFR Part 25, and the transition from DUNS to UEI has resulted in the UEI being issued by the Federal Government in SAM.gov.
The Department has established the following Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 performance measures for the AAE program:
All grantees will be expected to submit an annual performance report that includes data addressing these performance measures to the extent that they apply to the grantee's project. Performance targets will be established by each grantee and must be made for each year of the three-year performance period.