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Teachers, parents urge CCSD to require licensed music and art teachers as elementary positions face cuts
Summary
Multiple CCSD music and art educators and community groups urged the board to amend Regulation 41.13, section 2(b), so elementary music and art positions require content endorsements after several schools reported cuts or reassignments.
Elementary music and art teachers, parents and community organizations urged the Clark County School District Board of Trustees on March 13, 2025, to amend Regulation 41.13 (section 2[b]) so that music and art positions require a licensed endorsement in the content area at hire.
Speakers representing classroom and specialist roles described recent school-level decisions to eliminate dedicated music positions or assign general classroom teachers to provide elementary music or art instruction. They said those practices erode continuity, reduce opportunities for students to progress to middle- and high-school ensembles, and create equity problems across schools.
Several specialist teachers described the district—s long record in elementary music. "A strong elementary music program is the foundation for our nationally recognized secondary programs," said Teresa Frasier, an elementary music specialist, who told trustees that students need multi-year, continuous instruction to prepare for band, orchestra and choir. Multiple teachers noted that the district has been named a "Best Community for Music Education" for 25 consecutive years and asked the board to preserve that status by ensuring licensed specialists remain in every elementary school.
Speakers said the current regulation (4.11.13, section 2[b]) explicitly requires endorsements for librarians and other specialists but does not list music or art. The community request was narrowly procedural: amend the regulation to treat music and art similarly by requiring a Nevada Department of Education endorsement for those specialist positions.
Several teachers reported concrete impacts. Tyler Swick, a CCSD product of the district who now teaches, said his child—s school had posted interviews for music positions and the first four applicants were classroom teachers without music endorsements. Susan DeHart, a retired coordinator of elementary fine arts, said some schools already reassigned music duties to nonendorsed teachers or eliminated programs entirely and that the district—s long-term secondary programs depend on consistent elementary instruction.
Public commenters representing the Southern Nevada Black Educators Initiative, the Asian Chamber of Commerce and the Nevada Education Association echoed support for keeping endorsed specialists. The comments raised equity concerns: when some schools retain endorsed specialists and others do not, students— access to consistent arts instruction depends on zip code rather than district policy.
No board action to amend Regulation 41.13 was recorded at the meeting. Trustees did not take a formal vote on the requested change during the March 13 agenda item; speakers asked the board and staff to return regulatory language for board consideration so the trustees could act at a future meeting.
Speakers also linked arts instruction to attendance, behavior and academic outcomes: several reported that student engagement and standardized test performance fell when arts programs were cut, and others noted that arts classes support motor skills, language and social-emotional development. Teachers requested an immediate pause on site-based reassignments of endorsed music or art teachers while the board considers regulation changes.
