Government Budgeting

• Of the estimated 200-plus arts and humanities programs scattered throughout federal agencies, the majority of funding is through the Department of Interior appropriations, according to the U.S. Department of Education. President George W. Bush's Fiscal Year 2006 budget request of $2.5 trillion included much less than one percent for arts- and humanities-related spending, including education.
  
  

Endowments for the Arts

• The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) offers grants to educators and individual schools to bolster art education. However, the majority of federally funded arts and humanities programs are dealt with by the Department of Interior and related agency's appropriations bills. These appropriations -- or allowances -- provide funding for national arts and humanities organizations, such as the NEA. Each U.S. president allots a different sum of money in his fiscal year budget. One year the NEA may receive more than $130 million to dole out grants to art educators and school programs. Another year, the NEA may get less than $100 million.
  
  

State Arts Education Policy

• Most states have a specific arts education policy, according to Americans for the Arts. The policy may include graduation requirements, a set curriculum and education standards for visual arts, dance, drama and music. These policies also include a budget for the year. If a state is suffering from debt, it can cut art courses or let teachers go in order to cut spending. However, state boards of education can change, or not strictly follow, their policy. The results for arts funding, therefore, are often difficult to judge for the coming academic year.
  
  

Local Arts Education Policy

• School boards govern districts. School districts often pour more funding, attention, and resources into programs essential to state mandates and community needs, such as math, reading, and economics. School boards can create and fund any programs that improve the quality and delivery of instruction, including art programs.