This curriculum guide is intended to help school districts in Connecticut plan and implement a comprehensive K-12 arts curriculum. It can be used by educators in other states as well. There are four major parts to the guide. Part I discusses the role of the arts within the total school curriculum, the scope of arts experiences as general education for all students, the potential for art-related careers, and other issues relating to comprehensive arts planning. The other four parts of the guide focus on curriculum and program development in each of four areas: visual art, dance, drama, and music. Each part contains a statement of philosophy, a description of the essentials for a total program, and separate discussions of elementary, middle school/junior high, and senior high school curricula. These sections include examples of goals and objectives, models of different instructional approaches, recommended competencies and activities through which the competencies can be acquired, and methods of evaluation. References to additional resources appear in the footnotes and appendices at the end of the guide. (RM)