Making the Case: Advancing Massachusetts from STEM to STEAM

Bethann Steiner, Senior Director of Public Affairs

Advancement

During the 2025-2026 legislative session Mass Cultural Council is excited to partner with state Representative Mindy Domb (D- Amherst) on a new legislative proposal, HD2132, An Act advancing Massachusetts from STEM to STEAM. Rep. Domb is a passionate advocate for both the cultural sector and public education issues in Massachusetts, and last session served as the House chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development.

Rep. Domb eagerly partnered with Mass Cultural Council on this proposal because she said she is excited about the conversations it will spur, and further, she noted, “Employers and educators value integrating skills associated with the arts into their curricula and workplaces. Skills like creativity, collaboration, risk-taking, critical analysis, problem-solving, and innovation are needed in our changing world and workforce. Recognizing the contribution these arts-related skills bring inspires us to bring these skills and resources into our education and economic development settings.”

HD2132 proposes a small technical change to the Mass General Laws in the three sections where “science, technology, engineering, and math or STEM” is currently cited, by changing the wording to read “science, technology, engineering, art, and math” and/or “STEM” to “STEAM”.

The three existing references to “science, technology, engineering, and math or STEM” in the Massachusetts General Laws are:

1. Section 218 of chapter 6 of the MGLs – STEM Advisory Council
2. Section 6H of chapter 40J of the MGLs – Big Data Innovation and Workforce Fund
3. Section 35QQ of chapter 10 of the MGLs – Economic Empowerment Trust Fund

While HD2132 is making changes in name only, Mass Cultural Council believes this step is key to a larger and more important policy conversation. We believe the arts, humanities, and sciences – the cultural sector – are key to harnessing creativity to problem solve and demonstrate skills that often bring economic success.

As Mass Cultural Council continues to refine and focus its efforts on the advancement of the cultural sector, we hope to increase other sectors’ understanding and appreciation of creative individuals and cultural organizations. This will help to combat the troubling reality of our stakeholders being underutilized as partners in solving challenges. We know embracing and incorporating arts and creativity as other sectors develop policy, platforms, programs and initiatives is key to harnessing the power of culture. Advancing Massachusetts from STEM to STEAM by enacting HD2132 is a way to further this conversation. We believe this legislation will show that the Commonwealth embraces the arts as a valued core field, necessary to train our students in so that they can succeed and participate meaningfully in tomorrow’s workforce.

Consider this:

• Students with high arts participation and low socioeconomic status have a 4 percent dropout rate—five times lower than their low socioeconomic status peers.¹
• Students who take four years of arts and music classes score an average of over 150 points higher on the SAT than students who take only one-half year or less.²
• Low-income students who are highly engaged in the arts are twice as likely to graduate college as their peers with no arts education.³
• A recent study showed that arts education experiences reduce the proportion of students in school receiving disciplinary infractions by 3.6 percent.⁴
• The arts are recognized as a core academic subject under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and, as of 2020, all 50 states plus the District of Columbia have adopted standards for learning in the arts.⁵

Mass Cultural Council is also working with state Senator Paul Mark (D- Becket) on a second new bill, SD2045, An Act clarifying eligibility to the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund.

[1] National Endowment for the Arts’ The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies, p. 14.

[2] Collegeboard’s 2016 College-Bound Seniors Total Group Profile Report p. 9.

[3] National Endowment for the Arts’ The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies, p. 11.

[4] Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s Brief – Investigating Causal Effects of Arts Education Experiences.pdf, p. 1.

[5] Arts Education Partnership’s ArtScan at a Glance (2018)

Advancement