Arts Licensure Rulemaking
The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) is scheduled to update arts licensure standards between 2026 and 2028. In preparation, PELSB, the Perpich Center for Arts Education (Perpich) and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) are working with external partners to develop arts licensure standards that PELSB could move to adopt through the formal rulemaking process.
In 2024, PELSB, Perpich, and MDE assembled a steering committee to review structural issues in arts licensure. The steering committee reviewed each arts area and made recommendations to address these issues. A survey seeking feedback on these recommendations was sent out broadly to Minnesota arts educators in K-12 and higher education institutions in September 2025. In January 2026, an additional music licensure advisory group was convened to provide input on music licensure.
Next Steps
PELSB, Perpich, and MDE will open applications for writing workgroups for each PK-12 arts license, including Dance, Music, Visual & Media Arts, and Theater. These workgroups will review and revise the licensure standards for all continuing arts licenses and create standards for any new license. There will be multiple opportunities for the public to provide feedback during this process.
Once the writing workgroups have drafted the arts licensure standards, PELSB will review the drafts and may authorize the rulemaking process. The rulemaking process takes several years before any changes become official, and none of the changes impact the license(s) of currently licensed arts teachers.
Recent Developments
When setting the direction for each arts area license, PELSB considered the steering committee’s recommendations, the public survey feedback, and the recommendation of the music advisory group. PELSB approved revising licensure standards for all arts licenses, including the following changes:
- Discontinue the K-12 Vocal and Classroom Music and the K-12 Instrumental and Classroom Music licenses and replace them with a single PK-12 Music license with specialization embedded in the licensure standards.
- Embed media arts standards in visual arts, creating a PK-12 Visual & Media Arts license.
- Discontinue the combined Dance and Theater License, retaining the Dance license and the Theater license.
Dance & Theater: Additional Information
The change
The combined Dance and Theater License will be discontinued, while both the Dance license and the Theater license will remain.
Rationale for change
Keeping the combined Dance and Theater license was considered but not approved by PELSB because they have identified streamlining licensure as a priority in their decision-making.
Additionally, there are no PELSB-approved teacher preparation programs that offer coursework for a combined Dance/Theater license.
Music: Additional Information
The change
The K-12 Vocal and Classroom Music and the K-12 Instrumental and Classroom Music licenses will be discontinued and replaced with a single PK-12 Music license with specialization embedded in the licensure standards.
Rationale for change
K-12 music education does not fully represent the prevalent ways society engages with and makes music. To keep music education relevant and in line with contemporary career opportunities in music, music educators need knowledge and skills in areas such as popular music, recording arts, and music production/technology, and related pedagogical approaches.
Additionally, the current structure is built around the musical traditions of band and orchestra (instrumental), and choir (vocal), creating barriers to becoming an educator for the many musicians who are not from one of these specific niche musical backgrounds. It also creates barriers to offering music learning in K-12 schools that would prepare students for the range of musical careers relevant today.
Creating an all-inclusive PK-12 Music license asks music educators to broaden their knowledge and experience while still valuing and expecting some level of specialization. It also positions a wider variety of musical traditions as equally valuable to PK-12 music education.
Q: How would this change impact current educators’ assignments?
A: Though the current licenses would be discontinued, they would still exist as legacy licenses and still be renewable with no additional requirements. However, the legacy licenses would not be offered to new teacher candidates. Course assignment classifications would remain the same for teachers holding legacy licenses, as the scope of their license would not change.
Q: The course load in traditional higher education pathways for music teacher education is already significant; will this increase the course load?
A: Teacher preparation programs are designed by the institutions that offer them, though they must meet the state minimum requirements. In many cases, music education programs go above and beyond the state requirements. It is a priority for writing workgroups to consider how new music licensure standards may translate into course loads. We plan to work with higher education institutions to support their transition to the updated requirements.
Q: Will this change better prepare teachers to deliver the academic standards in music?
A: This change is intended to help better prepare teachers to deliver all strands of the academic standards. For example, we have frequently heard struggles with implementing the “Create” strand of the MN K-12 Academic Standards in Music. Revising the music licensure standards will involve alignment with the current Minnesota arts academic standards, ensuring that teachers are prepared to deliver instruction addressing all of the required standards.
Q: Will this change mean less access to band, orchestra, and choir?
A: There are currently excellent music programs all across Minnesota. This shift is not meant to limit the types of music schools offer. A teacher with a PK-12 Music license could still enter teaching prepared to teach band, orchestra, or choir. In addition, this license could better support districts that wish to offer additional music courses aligned with the diverse interests of students and broader music career opportunities.
Q: How will we ensure teachers are highly qualified in the area they are teaching?
A: The writing workgroup will be tasked with drafting standards that ensure candidates are highly qualified. Teacher preparation programs are required to align programs to licensure standards.
In addition, relicensure requirements mean that teachers continue to grow and learn over their career, adding new knowledge and skills that increase qualifications.
Q: Are there other states that take a similar approach to music licensing?
A: There are currently 38 other states offering an all-encompassing music license and 11 exclusively offering music licenses split by vocal and instrumental.
Visual & Media Arts: Additional Information
The change
Media arts licensure standards will be embedded in visual arts, creating a PK-12 Visual & Media Arts license.
Rationale for change
Minnesota has had academic standards for media arts since 2004. Since then, media arts has been predominantly taught by visual arts-licensed teachers, but no existing license contains standards that adequately ensure an educator is prepared to teach media arts. Appropriate teacher assignment is determined on a course-by-course basis across the existing arts licenses.
Embedding media arts standards with visual arts standards in one license will ensure that teachers are prepared to teach both. This will increase the number of teachers who are prepared to teach media arts. The creation of a separate media arts license was considered but not approved by PELSB because they have identified streamlining licensure as a priority in their decision-making.
Q: What will happen to licensed arts teachers who are currently teaching media arts? Will they no longer be able to teach these courses?
A: PELSB will work with partners on guidance with the intent of ensuring arts-licensed teachers who have been teaching media arts continue to do so. The intention is that everyone can continue to teach the courses they teach.
Q: Will CTE teachers still be able to teach high school media arts courses?
A: The option for a CTE teacher to offer a course that counts for arts graduation credit (known as credit equivalency) is not impacted by the creation of a new media and visual arts license.
Q: Who is currently considered appropriately licensed to teach media arts?
A: The answer varies by course assignment and grade level. Both the arts education licensure requirements and the licensure assignment table must be considered. For a summary of the arts education licensure requirements, see Current Arts Education Requirements: Standards, Credits and Courses. Additional details can be found in PELSB's Assignment Licensure Table.