Amplifying Opportunity: How the NFHS is Powering the Future of Music Education

Dr. James Weaver Director of Performing Arts and Sports, NFHS

Walk into any American high school gymnasium, auditorium, or stadium, and you’ll see the heartbeat of our communities - students performing, competing, and connecting. While the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is widely recognized for writing the rules of the game for high school sports, many don’t realize that we’re also the driving force behind the nation’s largest and most influential network for high school performing arts.

From marching bands and show choirs to orchestra festivals and debate championships, the NFHS Performing Arts Department exists to ensure students in music, speech, debate, and theatre have the same access, advocacy, and protections as their athletic peers. We do this by developing best practices and standards, supporting adjudication systems, leading national partnerships, and advancing advocacy initiatives that keep the arts thriving in our schools.

Who We Are: A National Platform for Education-Based Performing Arts

The NFHS represents all 51 state high school associations (50 states plus D.C.), serving more than 19,500 high schools and over 8 million students in athletics and 9 million students engaged in music, theatre, and speech programs. We are a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, but our reach and impact extend to every corner of the country.

Our Performing Arts Department supports teachers, administrators, and state leaders with tools, training, and standards that enhance student learning and elevate the professionalism of school-based performing arts. We’re not here to create stars, we’re here to create opportunities.

What We Do

At the core of our work is arts advocacy grounded in equity, access, and education. We lead national efforts that build bridges between education policy and classroom practice. Through our artsadvocacy.nfhs.org website, we offer schools a comprehensive resources school music programs, complete with research data, workforce resources, and case studies.

Some of our current projects include:

• Make Music Day (June 21): Encouraging schools to participate in the global celebration of music-making, with incentives like the $15,000 Alfred Music Sweepstakes for participating schools.

• Careers in Music: Helping students and parents understand the broad scope of music industry careers, from acoustical engineering to arts management.

• National Adjudication Standards: Developing consistent and equitable frameworks for music, theatre, speech and debate evaluation across state events and festivals.

• Federal & State Policy Engagement: Partnering with organizations like NAfME, NAMM, ASTA, ACDA, and Music for All to monitor and influence legislation affecting arts education access.

Sustaining a Pipeline of Music-Makers

When public school programs are strong, the music ecosystem is strong. Our work supports not only students and teachers, but also the entire creative economy. NFHS is helping to fill the teacher pipeline through the Teach Music Coalition, address copyright clarity in performances, and create AI policy frameworks that safeguard student creativity in an increasingly digital world.

Through our leadership, the performing arts are not just surviving, they are evolving. We’re integrating performing arts into CTE (Career and Technical Education) frameworks, reinforcing the economic value of arts education, and showcasing how music education builds both cultural capital and workforce readiness.

Looking Ahead to the Future

In a time when education faces ongoing budget battles, the arts must not be treated as extracurricular. They are essential. Every music stand, every downbeat, every student stepping onto a stage is a declaration that learning is happening in powerful, profound ways.

At the NFHS, we believe that access to high-quality performing arts education is a necessity. We will continue to advocate with the same vigor and vision that has defined our work for over a century.

To the educators, students, administrators, and advocates reading this, thank you for standing with us. Together, we will ensure that music remains not just in our schools, but in our future.

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As the Director of Performing Arts and Sports for the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), Dr. James Weaver is a driving force in high school arts education. Since 2016, he has pioneered initiatives that have elevated participation, training, and advocacy across the nation. During the pandemic, his leadership in the International Coalition for Performing Arts Aerosol Study helped bring the arts back to life in schools. Dr. Weaver also spearheaded the creation of NFHS's essential copyright education programs. He currently serves as president of the National Music Council, continuing his unwavering commitment to advancing arts education nationwide.