This document is the report of a task force established to survey all arts education programs in New Jersey, develop a model curriculum with sequential instruction for grades kindergarten through grade 12, evaluate the effects of the arts experience on students, review and make recommendations to improve certification requirements for arts education teachers, and explore partnerships and financial resources for the support of arts education in the state. The task force defined the arts as visual arts, dance, theater, music, and creative writing. Eight essential mandates were endorsed: (1) every school district should declare literacy in the arts a key educational objective for every student; (2) each school district should develop a comprehensive program in the arts that includes all five art forms; (3) all literacy in the arts programs should be multicultural; (4) every arts literacy program in New Jersey schools should introduce students to the full range of the arts experience, both as senders and receivers; (5) art should be taught across the curriculum as well as individually; (6) art education should be fully accessible to all students, including the physically disabled, and those with special learning needs; and (7) the arts education classroom should be extended to include museums, galleries, and theaters beyond the school, and artists engaged as instructors. Each task undertaken by the group is discussed in a separate section. Proposals for teachers in the arts, evaluating the arts, financing, and the roles of several governmental entities are discussed. (DK)