The relationship of art education to arts education deserves the professional attention of art educators. Many in the field will welcome the consideration of this topic as a sign that art educators are at last getting in tune with the times. Others may see progress in the fact that the topic is cast in terms of an opposition or choice-art versus arts-and may hope that someone is finally going to put those "arts people" in their place so that we can get on with the business of art education. Although the heat and passion surrounding the two positions just mentioned are inimical to careful study and to the weighing of policy pros and cons, they may well be the driving force behind the political processes that determine the nature of art education in the schools of the nation. Art Education vs. Arts Education: Components of the Picture When the place of art in the curriculum becomes a matter of political dispute, it is often reduced to simple slogans supported by passionate commitment to images that are conjured up by catchy phrases and advertising copy. The debate often turns on questions of influence and is carried on in a larger number of public forums than are usually concerned with art education. For this reason, the discussion that follows will place the art education versus arts education issue in the larger political context. Some evidence of a relatively dominant arts education stance will be presented, reasons for the present situation will be considered, and a stance