The decline in Federal funding for the arts in the mid-1990s coupled with California’s extended fiscal crisis has led policymakers to cut funding for services not perceived to be a basic need, resulting in significant cuts to public funding of the arts.  School-based arts programs have been adversely affected by increased competition for limited education dollars and increased focus on standardized testing of subjects such as math and reading.  

Although 90% of adults in Santa Clara County would like to see public school students receive meaningful arts education, studies show that most instruction is often limited to arts-exposure experiences only.  In the 2001-02 school year, 250,000 Silicon Valley students participated in arts-related outreach, but only 15% of the students were included in programs that involved more than one encounter with the arts. Research demonstrates that arts education needs to move beyond periodic exposure in order for optimum learning and benefits to occur.  

Additional key factors that demonstrate the clear and pressing need for new arts programs and collaborations in Silicon Valley public schools include the following: