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Michigan music education leaders head to D.C. asking legislators to protect funding

National Association for Music Education
/
nafme.org

Wednesday, 300 music education leaders supporting music education are traveling to Washington, D.C., meeting with federal legislators. Fourteen advocates will take part in Hill Day 2025

“Our mission is to serve primarily music educators, but then by extension also music students and the surrounding communities.”

Carin McEvoy is Executive Director of the Michigan Music Education Association. She and members are scheduled to meet with at least 11 of Michigan’s 15 federal legislators asking they protect Title program funding.

“We’re asking legislators to continue to fund Title I, Title II, and Title IV so that districts can have that ability to support things like music and arts education programming through those funds.”

The group is asking Congress to reject the Trump administration’s budget proposal cutting over $12 billion from the U.S. Department of Education, sidelining subjects like art and music – programs, McEvoy says, that are important to a student’s well-rounded education.

“For students to truly be able to understand and interact in the most fulfilling way with the musical environment around them, they have to have music education.”

McEvoy says approximately 200 schools in Michigan currently have no music program.

Dave joined WGVU Public Media in November of 2023 after eighteen years as a Michigan Association of Broadcasters Emmy-nominated photojournalist and editor at Grand Rapids' WOOD TV8 and three years at WEYI TV25 in Flint, Michigan. As a General Assignment Reporter, Dave covers daily news and community events all over West Michigan.
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