NY Lawmakers Introduce ‘Museum Education Act’ to Better Connect K — 12 Students to Cultural, Historical Institutions
Albany, N.Y. — Assemblymember Patricia Fahy (D — Albany) and Senator Jose Serrano (D — Bronx) today announced introduction of the ‘Museum Education Act’ (MEA), to provide leading New York State cultural and historical institutions with expanded financial assistance to develop and expand existing curriculum-based programs, as well as help remove transportation-related cost barriers that prevent many school districts from connecting students with these institutions.
New York State is home to more museums, historical societies and sites, zoos, and botanical gardens than any other state, and attracts over 60 million visitors each year, including 6 million students. Due to financial constraints and economic setbacks over the last 10 years, several school districts throughout the state have been forced to cut educational field trips from their transportation budgets. The legislation has passed the Assembly Tourism, Parks, Arts, and Sports Development.
A 2013 study conducted by The Wagner Group as part of the ‘Travel Effect’ campaign surveyed over 400 individuals who attended regular field trips as K — 12 students, demonstrating that students who participated in regular educational field trips were up to 59% more likely to achieve better grades, and that 63% were also more likely to attend some form of higher education. The MEA would allow more students to experience and receive hands-on learning in any of our state’s many significant cultural and historical institutions — while supporting these institutions with grant aid — and expanding access to these educational resources through more field trips and educational travel.
“Over the last decade, school districts throughout New York State have been forced to cut costs and consolidate budgets, often leading to cuts in their transportation budgets,” said Assemblymember Fahy. “Increasing the number of educational field trips students take directly correlates to their academic and social outcomes — studies show that this type of exposure can lead to a student being more likely to attend college by up to 63%. Moreover, museums and other institutions have struggled financially as school trips and curriculum-based programs continue to decline. The MEA will help connect students with New York’s museums and institutions and enable school districts to provide students with more field trip opportunities — at no cost to the district.”
“As a longtime advocate for arts education, I have seen firsthand the positive impact of exposing students to cultural programming,” said Senator Jose Serrano. “Field trips allow students to relate what they are learning in the classroom to the wider world and have been shown to significantly improve educational outcomes. For many young people, a school field trip might be their first opportunity to visit a cultural institution. The Museum Education Act will connect school curricula with museums and cultural institutions to museums and cultural institutions to provide opportunities for experiential learning and greater access to the world class educational programming New York has to offer.”
“I am delighted that the new Museum Education Act sponsored by Assembly Member Patricia Fahy and Senator Jose Serrano to fund museum programs that serve high-need, low resource communities regardless of the location of the museum or how it was chartered, was voted out of the Assembly Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee yesterday morning,” said Erika Sanger, Executive Director of the Museum Association of New York (MANY). “The Museum Education Act will advance equity in our education system and increase access to our cultural institutions. The New York State Education Department’s Board of Regents has also designated the Museum Education Act a 2020 legislative priority for New York’s students.”
