Illinois and Montana will soon have new standards for arts education for the first time in nearly two decades.
Both states are planning to expand their definitions of arts education to include media arts, a reflection of the growing role of technology in schools.
Those plans reflects changes to the National Core Arts Standards, which were updated by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards in 2014. The new standards include music, theater, visual arts, dance, and media arts, while previous standards focused on just the first four.
In Illinois, state educators are planning to change standards to reflect the national standards, Northern Public Radio reports. Illinois’ current fine arts standards were last updated in the 1990s.
The new standards are set to be released next year. Illinois districts adopt their own curriculum locally, so the new standards will not be required.
In Big Sky Country, Montana Public Radio reports that that state is also planning to add media arts to its arts standards. The state committee is also developing standards for each grade, instead of just at benchmark grades.