In November 2003, Denver voters passed an Elementary Arts Mill Levy designated to increase arts education for all K–5 students. The $6.5 million annual mandate requires that all district elementary schools provide sequenced, comprehensive, standards-based arts curriculum. This directive does not necessarily imply that students engage in all arts specialties every year, but during the course of their elementary education, that they attain standards-driven levels of awareness and experiences in visual arts, vocal music, instrumental music, dance, and theater.
Administrative support is provided for elementary arts teachers, including high-quality professional development, coordination with cultural arts organizations, guidelines for instructional programming and assessment, and development of long-term planning to strengthen arts education in the district. In addition, the district annually allocates $7 per student in K–5 (and students in K–8 schools) to support arts programming; these funds are dedicated to arts education and cannot be converted for use in other curricular areas.