Official Rules: National PTA Reflections Program 

By submitting artwork to the National PTA Reflections Program, entrants accept and agree to be bound by the official rules for  participation as well as the entry requirements for their specific arts category and division. Additional state program  requirements may apply. Any violation of these rules may, at PTA’s discretion, result in disqualification. All decisions of the  reviewers regarding this program are final and binding in all respects. (The “PTA” referred to in these rules include all PTAs  reviewing the submission).

Official Rules 

1. ELIGIBILITY. Students must participate through a local PTA/PTSA. Each student’s eligibility is determined by the state and local PTA/PTSA. A student may develop an entry inside or outside of school. 

2. HOW TO ENTER. Entrants must submit their artwork and student entry form to their local PTA/PTSA program according to local and state PTA procedures. Contact local PTA programs for deadlines and additional information. 

3. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS. Entrants must follow requirements and instructions specific to each arts category and, if applicable, Accessible Arts Division rules. 

a. Only new pieces of artwork inspired by the current year’s theme may be submitted. 

b. Each entry must be the original work of one student only. Only one student may be recognized as the award recipient for each entry. An adult may not alter the creative integrity of a student’s work. Because the program is designed to encourage and recognize each student’s individual creativity, help from an adult or collaboration with other students is not allowed except in the Accessible Arts Division. Other individuals may appear in or perform a student’s work, but the work itself must be the creative product of one student only. 

c. Each entry must contain a title, and all entries must include an artist statement. The artist statement communicates what inspired the work, how it relates to the theme and the content of the work. The statement must include at least 10 words and not exceed 100 words. 

d. Digital technology and/or software can be used to develop, enhance and/or present an entry but may not provide the primary design and/or concept. Entrants must use the “Additional Details” field to provide a brief description of the tools and method used in the creation process, including any generative elements (10 to 50 words). 

4. ARTS CATEGORIES. There are six arts categories and students may enter the National PTA Reflections program in one or more arts categories. See additional entry requirements and further details outlined in arts category rules. a. Dance Choreography: Solo and ensemble works of all dance styles are accepted. Entrant must be the original choreographer and may also be the performer, or one of the performers. Entries with added graphics in the video are not accepted. If used, cite background music on the entry form (title, composer and performer). Videos must not exceed five minutes or 1,000 MB (1,000 megabyte). Accepted file formats: MP4, MOV, AVI. 

b. Film Production: Accepted short film styles include: Animation, narrative, documentary, experimental or media presentation. Use of PowerPoint is prohibited. Entrant must be the screenwriter, cinematographer, editor and producer. If used, cite background music on the entry form (title, composer and performer). Videos must not exceed five minutes or 1,000 MB. Accepted file formats: MP4, MOV, AVI. 

c. Literature: Accepted forms of fiction and nonfiction include: prose, poetry, reflective essay, screen play and play script, narrative and short story. Collections of literary work are not accepted. Entrants may write in their primary language as long as an interpretive English translation is provided. Original illustrations are accepted, but only the writing is judged. Writing can be handwritten or typed (8.5×11, one-sided) and up to 2,000 words. Number pages. Accepted file format: 

PDF. 

d. Music Composition: All music styles and combinations of instrumentation are accepted. Entrant must be the composer and may also be the performer, or one of the performers. Software may be used to produce an audio recording. Entries containing algorithmic composition techniques are not accepted. Audio recording is required and must not exceed five minutes or 1,000 MB. Accepted file formats: MP3, WAV. Notation (score/tablature/reflective statement) is required for middle and high school divisions only and does not replace the required entry artist statement. Accepted file format: PDF. 

See guidelines for accepted notation details. 

e. Photography: Photo must be a single print/digital image. Collages, collections of photos and/or photos with added graphics are not accepted. Entrant must be the photographer and may use a variety of digital editing techniques. Print images: between 3×5 to 8×10 inches. Digital images: at least 640×960 pixels and 300 dpi resolution. Accepted file formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG. 

f. Visual Arts: Works of both fine and design arts in 2D or 3D formats are accepted. See guidelines for specifics. 2D artworks must not exceed 24×30 inches, including matting and must include at least one digital image of artwork. 3D artwork must contain 3 digital images of artwork at different angles. Accepted file formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG. 

5. DIVISIONS. Students select the appropriate division for their grade: 

a. Primary (PreK-Grade 2) b. Intermediate (Grades 3-5) c. Middle School (Grades 6-8) 

d) High School (Grades 9-12) 

e) Accessible Arts (All grades welcome)

Accessible Arts Division is open to students who identify as having a disability and may receive services under IDEA or ADA:  Section 504. By participating, students compete against other students in the Accessible Arts Division and are awarded as  part of the division. Participating students may receive division-specific accommodations and non-artistic accommodations  as outlined in the division guidelines. Students who choose to participate in the Accessible Arts Division must also select an  arts category and grade division. See division guidelines for details.  

Students with disabilities that do not wish to enter the Accessible Arts Division may compete in their relevant grade-level  and will follow the general rules and arts category guidelines specific to their submissions, modified only by non-artistic  accommodations specific and limited to the student’s disability.  

6. COPYRIGHT. Plagiarized entries will be disqualified. Use of copyrighted material, including any copyrighted cartoon characters, material downloaded from the internet, copyrighted recorded music or copyrighted photographs or stock images, is not acceptable, except for the following: 

• Entries may include public places, well-known products, trademarks or certain other copyrighted material as long as that copyrighted material is incidental to the subject matter of the piece and/or is a smaller element of a whole. The resulting work cannot try to establish an association between the student and the trademark/business/material or influence the purchase/non-purchase of the trademarked good. 

• If background music is used in dance choreography and film production entries, it must be cited on the entry form (title, composer and performer). 

• Visual arts, photography and film production entries may include portions of existing copyrighted works, such as photographs, magazine or digital media clippings and/or type cut out of a newspaper, as long as those portions of copyrighted works are used to create a completely new and different work of art. 

7. FINALIST SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION. Entries are reviewed at local, regional, state and national levels. Each PTA determines its own reviewers for the program. Entries will be reviewed primarily on how well the student uses their artistic vision to portray the theme, their originality and creativity. The National PTA Reflections® program makes no restrictions on content or subject matter in artwork submitted by the local, regional or state levels. National PTA reserves the right to use its sole discretion in selecting the submissions to be recognized at the national level. Under no condition may parents or students contact a reviewer to dispute the status/score of any entry. Each PTA in its sole discretion will select finalists for exhibition and provide awards/prizes. Awards are announced per local and state procedures. National awards are announced May 1 at PTA.org/Reflections. 

8. OWNERSHIP AND LICENSE. Ownership in any submission shall remain the property of the entrant, but entry into this program constitutes entrant’s irrevocable permission and consent that PTA may display, copy, reproduce, enhance, print, sublicense, publish, distribute and create derivative works for PTA purposes. PTA is not responsible for lost or damaged entries. Submission of entry into the PTA Reflections program constitutes acceptance of all rules and conditions. 

9. PARTICIPATING ENTITIES. This program is administered by the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and PTA affiliates.