Fine Arts Update

Each year, the Nebraska Department of Education updates the Course Codes and Clearing Endorsements guidelines, the tool by which Nebraska districts report the courses and subjects offered in their schools. This information is collected annually per approval regulations.

To date, the fine arts course codes have lacked the specificity necessary for schools to report courses offered in the areas of Media and Visual Arts, Dance, Music, and Theatre. This has resulted in a high number of “other” enrollments.

For school year 2023-2024, updates to the guidelines will allow for more accurate reporting. An additional factor to these significant changes is Nebraska’s upcoming participation in the Arts Education Data Project a national project that takes our publicly reported data (arts education access, enrollment, and participation), standardizes it, and then provides data visualization tools that will help inform future decision making. Information about this new partnership will be shared with school districts and arts educators as it develops.

The spreadsheet in the resources section below shows the 2023-2024 fine arts education courses, both changes to specific courses that already exist and new courses that have been added. We are asking districts to evaluate the current courses offered and categorize them according to the new course codes. We urge districts to move enrollments from “other” course codes to one of the new course codes that are available. You will also note that the subject of “Art” has been renamed to “Visual Art” to help distinguish it from “Fine Arts,” “Language Arts,” and “Communication Arts.”

You will also find the courses taught in Nebraska schools and the appropriate endorsements for those subjects or courses. In instances where no specific endorsement is required, the “level” of endorsement must still be appropriate for the assignment.

Nebraska approval regulations (Rule 14) and accreditation regulations (Rule 10) require that certain percentages of F.T.E. (Full Time Equivalency) elementary and middle grade teachers hold appropriate endorsements and that certain percentages of instructional units at the secondary grades be assigned to teachers holding appropriate endorsements. For teachers to be considered appropriately endorsed for their assignments, they must teach the grade levels and subjects indicated on their certificate. The grade level designations are shown on the spreadsheet below.

As you work through the documents, please let us know if you have any questions. Please contact Cody Talarico, Fine Arts Education Specialist, or Marissa Payzant, Director of Content Area Standards and Assistant Administrator of the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. It’s important to know that this change is a work in progress. We welcome specific questions and feedback that will inform the course codes for future years.

Sincerely,

Marissa Payzant, Ed.D. Director of Content Area Standards & Assistant Administrator

Office of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

Nebraska Department of Education

Cody Talarico, Fine Arts Education Specialist

Office of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

Nebraska Department of Education

Letter for the Fine Arts Course Code Changes for School Year 2023-2024

Spreadsheet of SY 2023-2024 Fine Arts Course Code Changes This spreadsheet maps the changes for the SY 2022-2023 fine arts course codes to the 2023-2024 fine arts course codes.

Presentation on the Fine Arts Course Code Changes from the Data Conference Webinar on April 12, 2023. Recording from the April 12 Data Webinar.

NDE Course Codes Site (now updated for 2023-2024). NDE Adviser Resources.

NDE Bulletin for 2023-2024 Course Codes and Clearing Endorsements.

These resources are also available on the NDE Fine Arts Education Website in the fourth tab with the standards. There is also a separate page for the Fine Arts Course Code.

• ESU Professional Development Staff, District Supervisors, Department Chairs, and Organization Leadership: Please send this information to the fine arts teachers and data stewards in your service area, district, or organization.
• Fine Arts Teachers: Please share with your colleagues and friends.
• If you're receiving this update from someone else and want to receive it directly, be sure to register for the NDE Fine Arts Education mailing list. You'll receive newsletters, invitations to events, and special announcements.

Let's connect and work together for all kids in Nebraska to have access and opportunities in arts education.

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• Follow Nebraska Fine Arts on Twitter at @NDE_FineArts. Use the #FineArtsEdNebraska to highlight the many amazing Fine Arts Education opportunities, events, and learning.
• Find out more about Fine Arts Education in Nebraska and view past editions of the NDE Fine Arts Expressions Newsletter.

500 South 84th Street, Lincoln, NE 68510-2611

Mailing: PO Box 94987, Lincoln, NE 68509-4987

Email: cody.talarico@nebraska.gov
Website: education.ne.gov/finearts
Phone: 4023147822
Twitter: @NDE_FineArts

Links to third-party websites do not constitute an endorsement of the content, viewpoint, accuracy, opinions, policies, products, services, or accessibility of the sites.

Decisions about curriculum and instructional materials are made locally by individual school districts and classroom teachers. The Nebraska Department of Education does not mandate the curriculum used within a local school.