New Standards Coming! Public Hearings Early 2026

Standards Testimony Background

As of 1/14/26

Watch Assistant Commissioner Jorden Schiff discuss the VPA Student Learning Standards in this video in the last 9 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsm3j7b1egY

Here are the proposed Revised VPA Standards

Testimony Parameters:

• 5 minutes.  They will stop you if you go over.
• Bring a minimum of 3-5 copies of your testimony and anything else you want shared with the full board.  You can also follow-up by emailing additional materials. 

These are the Key points we have gleaned from various sources, condensed below:

1. Improved articulation of the essential skills and knowledge students are expected to demonstrate.
2. Improved performance expectations to ensure optimal alignment with the anchor standard and make easier for teachers to implement in the classroom
3. Identified the appropriate alignment and revised and streamlined language as necessary to support a clear progression of sequential learning each year – and from one year to the next.
4. In music, revised the coding system to reflect proficiency levels, especially in Ensembles and Harmonizing
5. In Media Arts, clarified and removed redundancies.  
6. Dance standards team eliminated duplications and created a better progression from elementary through grade 12.  Dance created a progression of similar verbiage across all anchor standards and the others took their cue from this and did as well.

We recommend focusing on the following key points:

1. Strengths of the proposed new standards: 
   

   First, the revised standards more clearly define what students are expected to know and be able to do. Clear expectations are essential for equity and help reduce uneven access or rigor across communities.

   Second, the stronger alignment between anchor standards and performance expectations makes the standards more usable for educators and supports instructional planning and meaningful assessment.

   Third, the streamlined language reinforces sequential learning from year to year, a defining feature of high-impact arts education and a safeguard against fragmented or episodic instruction.

   Fourth, strong standards allow us to advocate for strong arts during times when schools are facing budget constraints and arts offerings may be threatened; student well-being continues to be a key issue, and we need to be serving ALL students.

2. Underscore that while the process was truncated this time, it built on a strong community driven, multi-year, multi-stakeholder process designed for the 2020 standards.  With a strong foundation, the group was able to focus on fine tuning, and ensuring sequential learning.
3. The implementation phase is as important as the revision process, and we encourage the board and the department to design something that is as inclusive of all the strong coalition of partners including the nonprofit sector and community partners.
4. Thank NJDOE VPA Supervisor Shea Murray for his leadership, and connection to a broad range of arts education stakeholders.

EXAMPLES

Here is what Wendy Liscow, Arts Ed NJ director, presented on Jan. 13^th: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12ZXpdCjxju-Eyvd3XxSSGj1Z2NLsr80E/view?usp=sharing

Here is another longer sample to adapt to your organization’s dependance on strong standards and how you might participate in the implementation phase:   

Good morning members of the State Board of Education and NJ Department of Education.

My name is Wendy Liscow, and I am the Executive Director of Arts Ed NJ, the statewide nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that every New Jersey PreK–12 student has access to a high-impact, sequential arts education across all five disciplines.

Arts Ed NJ strongly endorses the adoption of the revised New Jersey Visual and Performing Arts Standards. At a time when schools are navigating fiscal constraints, staffing shortages, and growing demands on educators, clear and well-designed standards are a critical policy lever. Strong standards provide stability, consistency, and a shared framework for high-quality instruction across all districts.

The revised standards improve the articulation of the essential skills and knowledge students are expected to demonstrate. This increased clarity supports more consistent interpretation and implementation statewide. When expectations are clearly defined, districts are better positioned to align curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and students are less likely to experience variability in access or rigor based on geography or resources.

We also commend the improved alignment between the anchor standards and performance expectations. This alignment strengthens coherence across grade levels and disciplines and makes the standards more actionable for educators. Clear performance expectations reduce ambiguity, support instructional planning, and enable more meaningful evaluation of student learning.

In addition, the revised and streamlined language reinforces a clear progression of sequential learning from one year to the next. Sequential learning is a defining characteristic of high-impact arts education and an important safeguard against arts instruction becoming fragmented or episodic. These revisions better reflect developmental progression and support districts in building coherent, standards-aligned programs over time.

It is also important to acknowledge the integrity of the standards development process. The original 2020 Visual and Performing Arts Standards were developed over more than two years, grounded in the national standards framework and informed by the expertise of nearly 100 stakeholders from across New Jersey. Educators, administrators, teaching artists, and higher education partners contributed to a process that prioritized both rigor and real-world applicability. The revisions before you build on that strong foundation while responding to lessons learned from implementation in the field.

Adoption, however, is not the end of the policy cycle—it is the beginning of implementation. The effectiveness of these standards will depend on implementation with fidelity, supported by professional learning and clear guidance.

Arts Ed NJ has invested in statewide implementation infrastructure, including an on-demand professional learning course that supports holistic understanding of the standards across disciplines and grade spans. We have also developed a Social and Emotional Learning crosswalk aligned with the anchor standards, demonstrating how arts education advances state priorities related to student well-being, engagement, and whole-child development.

We see this moment as an opportunity for coordinated implementation—one that brings together the Department, districts, educators, and partners around a shared commitment to quality and equity.

On behalf of Arts Ed NJ, we respectfully urge the State Board to adopt the revised Visual and Performing Arts Standards and to support the conditions necessary for their successful implementation statewide. In challenging times, strong standards are not simply guidance—they are a public commitment. By adopting and implementing these standards with fidelity, New Jersey affirms that access to a rigorous, sequential arts education is not optional, but a core responsibility to every student we serve.