🎠Introducing the Inclusion Guide for Arts Education
Arts Ed NJ, in partnership with All In for Inclusive Education and the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, has released the Inclusion Guide for Arts Education — a new statewide resource designed to help ensure that students with disabilities are fully included in arts education. The guide grew out of conversations with families and educators across New Jersey, including stories of students with IEPs being pulled from arts classes for services or support, alongside accounts of the profound impact arts experiences had on students’ learning, confidence, communication, belonging, and success in school.
Built around asset-based systems and structures, illustrative examples, and key guiding questions, the guide offers a broad framework that districts of any size or context can adapt for coordinated, purposeful efforts centered on inclusivity, student well-being, and shared responsibility for all students. A student’s disability or need for services should not become a barrier to participating in arts education — the guide is both a resource and a starting point for deeper conversations among families, educators, school leaders, and other partners.