Professional Development for Arts Educators

PDAE Overview

This program specifically supports the implementation of high-quality model professional development programs for arts educators and other instructional staff in the areas of music, dance, drama, media arts, and visual arts, including folk arts, for students in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) in which 50 percent or more of the students are from low-income families.

Projects funded by this program use innovative instructional methods and current knowledge from education research and focus on:

• the development, enhancement, or expansion of standards-based arts education programs, and/or
• the integration of standards-based arts instruction with other core academic area content.

Previous Competitions

To learn more about the previous competitions, please read below

FY 2021

The FY 2021 Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) Notice Inviting Applications was posted on the Federal Register January 15, 2021. An amendment to this notice was posted on the Federal Register on March 4, 2021.  Please click here for more information.

Competition Dates:

• Applications Available: January 15, 2021.
• Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 16, 2021.
• Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 15, 2021.
• Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 14, 2021.

Pre-Application Meeting for Potential Applicants:

A pre-application meeting was held on Monday, February 1, 2021 to help potential applicants understand the Notice Inviting Applications and to offer guidance for preparing a grant application. For those who were not able to attend or would like a copy of the presentation, please see below:

AAE Pre-Application Slides

FY 2017

The FY 2017 PDAE Notice Inviting Applications was posted in the Federal Register on March 28, 2017.

Competition Dates:

• Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: April 27, 2017
• Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 30, 2017
• Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 26, 2017

Pre-Application Meeting for Potential Applicants:

For those interested in applying to the PDAE grant program, on Wednesday, April 26 staff held a pre-application webinar to help potential applicants understand the Notice Inviting Applications and to offer guidance for preparing an application. For those who were not able to attend, the webinar was recorded and can be accessed HERE.

To access the PDAE webinar presentation slides, please see PDAE Webinar Presentation Slides

FY 2017 PDAE Frequently Asked Questions

Download a copy of the FY 2017 PDAE FAQ

Eligibility

Who May Apply:

A Local Education Agency (LEA) in which 20 percent or more of the students served by the LEA are from families with an income below the Federal poverty line, and which may be a charter school that is considered an LEA under State law and regulations, and that works in partnership with one or more of the following

1. A Regional Service Agency;
2. A State Education Agency (SEA);
3. An institution of higher education; or
4. A museum or cultural institution, or another private agency, institution or organization.

Eligibility Requirement:

Applicants must propose to implement professional development programs for arts educators and other instructional staff serving schools that meet the following requirement: 50 percent of more of the students served by the K-12 school are from low-income families (based on the poverty criteria in Title I, Section 1113(a)(5) of the ESEA).

Included in the chart below is the amount of funding for new PDAE awards per fiscal year since FY 2001.

* The Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017, would provide, on an annualized basis, $26,948,673 for the Arts in Education program, of which we would use an estimated $7,100,000 for this competition. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program.

** In FY 2015 and FY 2016, the PDAE program did not run a new competition. Continuation awards were made to those grantees that received initial awards in FY 2014.

Legislation

Title IV, Part F, Subpart 4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Regulations

Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR)

Federal Register Notices

Notice of final priority, requirements, and definitions for this program (2005 NFP), published in the Federal Register on March 30, 2005 (70 FR 16242).

Included below is information regarding the new awards made in each fiscal year since FY 2009.