updated 11/18/2025
Dive deeper into music education advocacy with the tools below from fellow nonprofit organizations. These resources will help you familiarize yourself with local, state, and federal education funding and engage in policies related to music education. Funding can be the most challenging aspect of creating and sustaining a school music program. Whether you are a school district administrator or community member, you have the power to equip yourself with the knowledge to advocate for policy change and funding for music education. You can even call, write, or join a campaign to spread awareness to the rest of your community and those in elected office who represent your district or state.
K-12 Funding Toolkit: A Strategic Guide for States
Created by the Education Commission of the States, this funding toolkit offers a strategic guide for reforming or redesigning state K-12 funding to ensure students and educators have the necessary resources to reach education goals. Explore five guiding principles for state leaders to strive toward and examples of what these principles look like in practice.
NAMM Foundation Grassroots Advocacy Guide
The SupportMusic Community Action Kit is a free community resource developed and supported by NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants. The information provided in this kit can get you started with music education advocacy, and there are tools to help your efforts – press release templates, meeting presentations, sample advocacy letters, and more. Adapt the materials to your local situation and use them in your day-to-day efforts.
NAfME Advocacy Resource Center
To help you plan your teaching and support your music education advocacy efforts, NAfME (National Association for Music Education) offers the resources for funding, policy, and classroom instruction. The Grassroots Action Center has several campaigns you can join or resources to use to advocate for federal and state arts education policy.
Title II, Part A
Title II, Part A – Supporting Effective Instruction State Grant Program – is the most significant source of federal funding supporting professional learning for educators and leaders at the school, district and state levels. Authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title II is designed, among other things, to provide all students with greater access to effective educators. Learn more about state allocation of these funds and how to take action to spread awareness about Title II.
Title IV, Part A
Title IV, Part A is part of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, designed to ensure that districts have access to programs that foster safe and healthy students, provide students with a well-rounded education, and increase the effective use of technology in our nation’s schools. A well-rounded education includes arts education (music, visual arts, dance, drama, media arts, etc.) for children of all grade levels kindergarten through 12th grade. Learn more about this grant program and resources to use to advocate for more Title IV funding.