Section 50-12-30. Legislative findings

   The General Assembly finds that:

   (1) Tourism is Georgia's second largest industry and cultural heritage tourism is the fastest growing industry segment;

   (2) The arts surpass professional sports in attendance and are ranked as one of the top ten reasons for corporate relocations;

   (3) The arts preserve history and heritage for Georgians;

   (4) The arts enhance education success for our children through the teaching of complex and abstract ideas; the nurturing of the development of cognitive, social, and personal competencies; and the reaching of otherwise unreachable students;

   (5) Preparing Georgia children for success in our competitive global economy that increasingly demands creative solutions to challenging problems is a fundamental obligation of the State of Georgia;

   (6) Utilizing all available tools to improve Georgia's public schools is critical to demonstrating Georgia's strong commitment to work force readiness and to encouraging continued job growth and relocation of attractive knowledge based industries within Georgia;

   (7) Research studies and experience in recent years demonstrate that the presence of arts in education, whether part of the curriculum or as supplemental programs, can increase students' engagement in learning as well as their social and civic development;

   (8) Integrating arts in education in various ways as a meaningful part of the K-12 school environment can have the following benefits:

      (A) Reaching and increasing the performance of students who often struggle to succeed in school, including disadvantaged students, English language learners, and students with disabilities;

      (B) Providing new challenges for those students already considered successful;

      (C) Improving the cognitive skills of students involved in reading, language development, and mathematics;

      (D) Lead to a student's development of problem solving and critical and creative thinking skills;

      (E) Motivating students to learn and become more involved in their schools;

      (F) Increasing student attendance and engagement and lowering drop out rates; and

      (G) Promoting student self-confidence and fostering better relationships among students and teachers;

   (9) Public funding support for the arts and the teaching and physical infrastructure needed to provide arts and arts in education is an essential part of Georgia's efforts to improve education and provide for economic development and tourism;

   (10) Companies desire employees who can meet the challenges of a global economy and can apply creative thought to problem solving;

   (11) The arts build communities and increase the quality of life for Georgians;

   (12) Increasing the availability of the arts and tourism is a direct economic benefit for the economy of Georgia and will provide jobs and opportunities for our citizens;

   (13) It is in the best interests of this state and its citizens to support the arts, education, economic development, and tourism; and

   (14) The success and significant advances made by the Georgia Research Alliance as a public-private partnership in higher education demonstrates that a coordinated public-private partnership to focus resources on critical educational objectives is an efficient and flexible means for allocating resources and ensuring measurable results.

Code 1981, § 50-12-30, enacted by Ga. L. 2008, p. 614, § 1/HB 291.