[MASTA] Legislative Action: Your input is important!

Thu Apr 10 09:41:29 EDT 2025

Greetings, MASTA Members!

I hope that this message finds you well! As many of you may have heard,
there is a bill in the Michigan House of Representatives, House Bill 4156,
which has been proposed to make significant curriculum changes to our
schools. Our partners in music education, MSBOA, have put together thoughts
and a sample letter that we can use to contact our representatives to share
our thoughts. I have already swapped "MSBOA" to "MASTA" for you in the
letter below, but otherwise, their letter/message remains the same.

Please take a moment to read the message below; if you choose to contact
your representatives, please do not include the section labeled "To Review"
with the bullet points. (To add to the "To Review" section that Garret and
Greg included, I personally question the definition of "department-approved
formal career & technical education program." For many students, our music
classes ARE formal career education programs, yet I am not sure that they
would be considered as such to fulfill that requirement in the current
bill.)

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for all that you do!

Sincerely,
Amy Marr

--
Amy Marr
*Orchestra Director, Tecumseh Public Schools*
*President, Michigan Chapter of the American String Teachers Association
(MASTA)*
*amarr at tps.k12.mi.us <amarr at tps.k12.mi.us>*

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Garret Ernst <gernst at msboa.org>
Date: Thu, Apr 10, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Subject: Legislative Action: Your input is important!
To: Garret Ernst <gernst at msboa.org>
Cc: Holt, Gregory <gholt at troy.k12.mi.us>, Heidi Schlosser <
hschlosser at msboa.org>

Members,

Please take a look at the message below from our State President, Gregory
Holt. If you decide to use the letter below to send to your
senator/representative, please be sure NOT to include the bulleted review
points below the sample letter.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns,

Garret
--------------------------------------
Hello Members,

The Michigan House of Representatives is scheduled to hear the second
reading of the attached House Bill 4156 during their 1:30 session on
Tuesday, April 15. We urge you to contact your legislators and have
provided the form letter below that you can use in your correspondence. We
also encourage you to alert other local stakeholders (parents, boosters,
administrators, etc.) to the contents of this bill.

You can find your representatives at the following links:
Representatives: https://www.house.mi.gov/
Senators: https://senate.michigan.gov/findyoursenator/

*[Your Name]*

*[Your Address]*

*[City, State, ZIP Code]*

*[Email Address]*

*[Date]*

*[Representative's Name]*

*[Representative's Office Address]*

*[City, State, ZIP Code]*

Dear *[Representative's Name]*,

I am writing to you to express my strong opposition to House Bill 4156.
This bill, if passed, would have significant negative impacts on the
curriculum in our schools, particularly concerning music and arts education.

Music education is an essential part of a well-rounded curriculum. It
fosters creativity, critical thinking, and emotional expression, all of
which are crucial for the holistic development of students. The proposed
changes in HB 4156 threaten to deprioritize music and arts education in
favor of other subjects, undermining the balanced education that our
students deserve.

As a member of the Michigan Chapter of the American String Teachers
Association (MASTA), I have seen firsthand how music programs contribute to
the cognitive and social development of students. These programs provide a
unique avenue for students to explore their talents, work collaboratively,
and develop a lifelong appreciation for the arts. By reducing the emphasis
on music education, HB 4156 would limit these opportunities and diminish
the overall quality of education in our schools.

I urge you to vote NO on HB 4156 and to advocate for the continued support
and integration of music education within the school curriculum. Our
students deserve a well-rounded education that includes the arts, and our
communities benefit from the cultural enrichment that these programs
provide.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I appreciate your
commitment to the education and well-being of Michigan's students.

Sincerely,

*[Your Name]*

*[Your Title/Position]*

To review, here are the main points of the bill mentioned in a previous
e-mail from Garret Ernst:

   - The required credit in visual arts, performing arts, or applied arts
   has been expanded to include a variety of classes that would satisfy this
   requirement, including: yearbook, shop, culinary studies, computer science,
   and a department-approved formal career and technical education program.
   - There is a proposed additional 2 credit requirement for high school
   students to complete 1/2 credit in personal finance and 1/2 credit in
   workplace development. The remaining 1 credit of this 2 credit requirement
   can be fulfilled from any course listed within Section 1278b, 1a & 1b
   (which includes English Language Arts and Science only), a
   department-approved formal career and technical education program, and
   courses developed by the board of the school district or intermediate
   school district or board of directors of the public school academy in which
   the student is enrolled.
   - They are Strongly Recommending that students complete the 2 credit
   foreign language requirement sometime between K-8. It used to be a
   recommendation for 1 credit to be completed K-6. I need to state here that
   1 credit of this requirement can be fulfilled through the performing arts.
   - The proposed bill also appears to increase the Science
   requirement from 3 credits to 4 credits.

What does this mean for you?

   - It means that your Middle School students are being urged to complete
   their 2 years of foreign language by the 8th grade making room in high
   school for the increased requirements (in my opinion).
   - It means that your High School Students are going to have to find room
   for 3 more credits during their time in high school.

Thanks for your partnership in this matter,
-Greg

Gregory Holt
Larson Middle School
State President, MSBOA
gholt at troy.k12.mi.us

-- 
Amy Marr
*Orchestra Director, Tecumseh Public Schools*
*President, Michigan Chapter of the American String Teachers Association
(MASTA)*
*amarr at tps.k12.mi.us <amarr at tps.k12.mi.us>*
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