H.R. 134·Elementary Beginner
A Bill to Require One Art Class a Week in Elementary School
Rep. Ortiz (D-NM)
Public elementary schools must offer at least one art class per week.
Sec. 1 — Mandate
Every K-5 public school shall provide a minimum of one 45-minute art class per week.
Sec. 2 — Funding
$60 million for art supplies and teacher stipends.
Sec. 3 — Enforcement
States certify compliance to receive arts education grants.
Sec. 4 — Effective Date
Next school year.
Tournament Prep
Mechanical parts, sourced & timed
Use this as your pre-round checklist. Memorize the source citation. Time yourself to the delivery target.
- Bill / Number
- H.R. 134 — A Bill to Require One Art Class a Week in Elementary School
- Funding source
- $60M from the Department of Education's arts education account.
- Timeline
- Next school year.
- Realistic — most schools already have art rooms; this guarantees frequency.
- Enforcing agency
- Department of Education; state arts-education certification.
- Yes — arts requirements already part of Title IV-A.
- Penalty for non-compliance
- Loss of Title IV-A arts grants.
- Source citation
- Brookings, Bowen & Kisida (2019), 'Investigating Arts Education Effects' — brookings.edu.
- Delivery time (read aloud)
- 55s
Strongest counter-argument
Carving out art weekly squeezes time from core academics like reading and math.
Your pre-emptive answer
Brookings' Houston study (2019) found arts instruction *raised* writing scores and reduced disciplinary infractions — it complements core academics, not competes with them.