Art instruction in Iowa schools lacks cohesiveness and continuity. This may be due in part to the state government's commitment to local autonomy. The Iowa Department of Education does not mandate what schools must do; it only suggests and encourages. In 1986, the department published a five-year plan for the achievement of educational goals, including a guide to curriculum development in the arts. The Iowa Arts Council saw an opportunity to blend its objective, to promote the practice and appreciation of the arts, with this five-year plan and new arts curriculum. The result was the Arts in Schools Basic Education Grant (AISBEG). The objectives of the project include: (1) providing comprehensive sequential arts curriculum for grades K-12 in visual art, music, dance, and theater and for these disciplines to be infused into the school's traditional academic curricula; (2) utilizing a wide variety of community arts resources to enhance arts education; and (3) emphasizing the development of cross-curricular, interdisciplinary, multicultural, non-sexist experiences, and global and career education, as well as learning for all students. The progress of this project is noted, and the plans that have been developed are outlined. Appendices provide excerpts from the Department of Education's five-year plan and from the new standards for Iowa schools as well as a directory of people involved in the AISBEG project. (JB)