One out of seven middle and high schools in the city violates state law by not providing required arts education, newly released data show.
More than one in four, a total of 419, lack a full-time certified arts teacher. And nearly one in five, 306 schools, have neither a full- nor part-time arts teacher. They include 53 high schools and 24 middle schools.
The state requires that all high-school students receive at least one credit in arts to graduate with a Regents diploma.
City Comptroller Scott Stringer called the findings “incredible.”
“A well-rounded education includes a robust arts curriculum, whether you enter the high-tech economy or creative world,” he said.
Stringer’s office found that cuts to arts programs disproportionately affect schools in the poorest neighborhoods.
More than 42 percent of schools that lack arts teachers are in the South Bronx or central Brooklyn.