AR HB1689

Establishes the Arts-Enriched Curriculum Program, a five-year pilot program funded through Department of Education grants to implement arts-enriched curriculum at 15 public schools starting in 2014-2015

Requires participating schools to have principal and at least 85% teacher agreement, with selection based on faculty/staff commitment, student body size and diversity, and available funding

Schedules program rollout in three cohorts of five schools each, beginning in 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017, with each school receiving three years of professional development training

Training includes 7 days in year one, 5 days in year two, and 4 days in year three, all with monthly follow-up sessions on integrating arts into Common Core State Standards instruction

Requires grant recipient to evaluate effectiveness by measuring student academic achievement, engagement, disciplinary referrals, and attendance, with written report to education committees due by September 1, 2020