United States HR 5399: Equitable Arts Education Enhancement Act

Bill Text

I 
119THCONGRESS 
1
STSESSION 
H. R. 5399 
To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
support arts education at minority-serving institutions of higher education. 
IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  
SEPTEMBER16, 2025 
Ms.   K
AMLAGER-DOVE(for   herself,   Ms.   VELA
 ́
ZQUEZ,   Mr.   FIELDS,   Ms.   
B
ONAMICI,  Ms.  NORTON,  and  Mr.  THANEDAR)  introduced  the  following  
bill;  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education  and  Workforce  
A  BILL  
To  direct  the  Secretary  of  Education  to  carry  out  a  grant  
program  to  support  arts  education  at  minority-serving  
institutions of higher education. 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This  Act  may  be  cited  as  the  ‘‘Equitable  Arts  Edu-4
cation Enhancement Act’’. 5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6
Congress finds the following: 7
(1) According to a 2021 study by Americans for 8
the  Arts,  the  arts  are  an  invaluable  aspect  of  Amer-9
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•HR  5399  IH
ican  society,  as  they  strengthen  the  economy,  im-1
prove  healthcare,  spark  creativity  and  innovation,  2
and  unify  communities,  with  73  percent  of  partici-3
pants  agreeing  that  the  arts  help  them  to  better  un-4
derstand other cultures. 5
(2)  The  American  Alliance  of  Museums  found  6
that  ‘‘93  percent  of  museum  directors  are  white,  as  7
are  92.6  percent  of  board  chairs  and  89.3  percent  of  8
board  members’’,  reflecting  a  clear  lack  of  diversity  9
in the leadership of museums. 10
(3)   Minority-serving   institutions,   or   ‘‘MSIs’’,   11
are  uniquely  positioned  to  produce  a  diverse  genera-12
tion  of  art  professionals  and  help  bring  much  needed  13
attention  to  works  by  BIPOC  (Black,  Indigenous,  14
People   of   Color)   artists.   MSIs   have   historically   15
served   as   long-standing   conservators   and   crucial   16
supporters  of  artist  from  diverse  backgrounds.  At  a  17
time  when  diversity,  equity,  and  inclusion  are  being  18
targeted,  the  teaching,  supporting,  and  displaying  of  19
essential  Minority  artists  who  may  otherwise  have  20
remained unrecognized must be prioritized. 21
(4)  Arts  programs  and  arts  departments  are  ex-22
pensive   and   have   often   fallen   victim   to   funding   23
shortfalls.  In  2018,  the  College  Art  Association  re-24
ported  that  at  least  18  institutions  of  higher  edu-25
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cation  planned  to  severely  curtail  or  eliminate  their  1
arts departments. 2
(5)  An  increased  investment  in  MSI  arts,  arts  3
education,  and  culture  programs  can  further  help  4
Black,  Indigenous,  students  of  color  access  an  af-5
fordable  arts  education  and  ensure  the  continued  6
preparation,   conservation,   display,   and   study   of   7
works by Minority artists. 8
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS. 9
(a)  I
NGENERAL.—The  Secretary  of  Education  (re-10
ferred  to  in  this  section  as  the  ‘‘Secretary’’)  shall  carry  11
out  a  program  under  which  the  Secretary  makes  grants  12
to  minority-serving  institutions,  on  a  competitive  basis,  to  13
support arts education at such institutions. 14
(b)  A
PPLICATIONS.—To  be  eligible  to  receive  a  grant  15
under this section, a minority-serving institution shall sub-16
mit  to  the  Secretary  an  application  at  such  time,  in  such  17
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 18
may require. 19
(c)  U
SES  OFFUNDS.—A  minority-serving  institution  20
that  receives  a  grant  under  this  section  shall  use  such  21
grant  to  support  increased  racial  minority  access  to  arts  22
education at the institution, which may include— 23
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•HR  5399  IH
(1)  providing  financial  and  other  assistance  to  1
students  in  arts,  arts  education,  and  cultural  pro-2
grams; 3
(2)  establishing  outreach  programs  and  develop-4
ment  offices  for  arts,  arts  education,  and  cultural  5
departments; 6
(3)  providing  comprehensive  wraparound  serv-7
ices  for  arts,  arts  education,  and  cultural  students,  8
including  faculty  and  peer  mentorship,  work-based  9
learning  opportunities,  guidance  counseling,  and  ca-10
reer advising; 11
(4)  presenting  and  exhibiting  art  and  perform-12
ances  produced  by  minor