Report: Arts Access and Participation in Arizona Schools

Overview

The Arizona Arts Education Data Dashboard documents student access to and participation in arts education courses throughout Arizona's K-12 schools. The dashboard includes enrollment data self-reported by district and charter schools and allows users to compare district- and school-level arts education programs with the State Board's Arizona Arts Education Requirements, evaluate program effectiveness, and explore discipline-specific access and enrollment information.

Key Findings (2024-2025)

• 83.22% of Arizona students had access to courses in at least one arts discipline (Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts)
• 72.6% of Arizona schools reported student enrollments in at least one arts course
• 59.26% of Arizona students (672,659) enrolled in at least one arts course
• Highest enrollment in visual arts (468,492 students), followed by music (459,489), theatre (35,341), dance (28,343), and media arts (19,344)
• Only 33.84% of K-8 schools met the minimum course of study requirement of two artistic disciplines
• 190,441 students (16.78%) had no reported access to arts courses in their grade level
• 572 schools (27.4%) reported no arts enrollments

Barriers and Requests

Schools whose arts course offerings did not meet state requirements most commonly cited lack of funding for arts teaching staff as the primary barrier. The most requested professional development topic from school leaders was 'Funding options for arts education staff and programming.'