On Wednesday, teachers advocating for the arts lobbied the Iowa State Senate and House of Representatives in favor of adding fine arts to the core curriculum, just as other subjects like math and reading. Representative Guy Vander Linden tells KNIA/KRLS News that he was surprised to learn that fine arts weren’t already part of the state’s core curriculum. Vander Linden adds that personally, he supports the idea, and feels that it’s an important part of a broad based education. Iowa and Nebraska are currently the only two states without standards for arts education.