This issue of "Basic Education" is devoted to the arts in education as a concern that should be addressed in a time of new priorities for the curriculum. Five articles and a book review are included. The opening article, "The State of the Arts in Education: Envisioning Active Participation By All" (Virginia Robinson), emphasizes that the study of the arts is basic, and that instruction should include performance, art history, and aesthetics. The next two articles are "A Viewpoint on the Arts as Reinforcing the Basic Academic Skills of Students" (Thomas and Dennie P. Wolf), and "How Schools Have Lost Federal Arts Education Funds Since 1982.""The Specialized Arts Schools: Alternatives for the Talented" (Junius Eddy) describes characteristics of specialized arts schools as gleaned from a conference survey. "Rockefeller Fund Gives Tangible Rewards to Excellence in the Arts" is the title of the fifth article. In the final article, Virginia Robinson reviews Howard Gardner's book "Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences." (RM)