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Contents
Senate File 391 passed during the 2023 legislative session made substantive changes to education standards and instruction for elementary and secondary schools. Below is a summary of the changes.
- Eliminates Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) reporting requirement to the Department.
- Qualifications have been expanded to allow Districts to hire an individual previously employed as a librarian at a public library to be a qualified school librarian.
- Expands the program expectations of the guidance counselor. The District program shall be designed to ensure that the guidance counselor can work collaboratively with students, teachers, support staff, and administrators to support the curricular goals of the school by offering responsive services that address the growth and development needs of students and the attainment of student competencies in academic, career, and social areas. This change also requires the state board to approve standards for the guidance and counseling programs.
- Allows Districts and nonpublic schools to use five days or thirty hours of online instruction toward the minimum 180 days or 1080 hours of instruction. Iowa Code section 279.10 subsection 1. This does not apply to online courses, online programs, or approved online schools operated by a school or school district.
- Expands use of contracted community college courses to meet any minimum high school offer-and-teach requirements in grades 9-12.
- Allows districts or nonpublic schools to teach two or more sequential units of one subject area in the same classroom in grades 9-12.
- Expands allowable excusals for physical education for students in grades 9-12. A high school principal shall excuse students who meet qualifications for a physical education excusal in grades 9-12 following a written request by the student’s parent/guardian.
- Reduced Fine Arts offer-and-teach units from three to two units in grades 9-12.
- Reduced World Language offer-and-teach units from four to two in grades 9-12.
- Completion of one-half unit (course) of Personal Financial Literacy is no longer a condition for graduation. Districts are required to offer-and-teach one-half unit (course) of Personal Financial Literacy. The one-half unit (course) may be a stand-alone course or the content may be integrated into units (courses) through existing coursework. Existing coursework could include science, mathematics, social studies, English or career and technical education.
- Health education content specification changes.
Under Iowa law, each school district board is required to assign responsibility for coordinating the development and ongoing implementation of equal opportunity and affirmative action plans to an employee. This may be the same employee who has been assigned to coordinate the district’s efforts to comply with federal laws requiring nondiscrimination in educational programs and employment.
The employee or employees designated to coordinate their schools’ compliance with civil rights laws plays an essential role in ensuring that all students in our state have equal educational opportunities. These employees may have different titles at different schools, such as civil rights coordinators, equity coordinators, Title IX coordinators, Title VI coordinators, Section 504/ADA coordinators, disability rights coordinators, etc.
The Iowa Department of Education is collecting contact information for designated equity coordinators for this upcoming school year. Each school district should provide updated contact information for the employee or employees serving in this role in the Assurances 2023-24 (Public) data collection located in the “Assurances" folder of the Consolidated Accountability and Support Application (CASA) no later than Friday, September 1, 2023. Questions may be directed to SueAnn Johnson, Administrative Consultant, Equity Compliance, at sueann.johnson@iowa.gov. More information about the role and responsibilities of the equity coordinator can be found at https://educateiowa.gov/pk-12/accreditation-program-approval/equity-education
Below are general resources and training opportunities regarding human trafficking
General Training Opportunities:
The 2023 Conditions for Learning Survey reports are now available in Panorama Student Success. Data from school staff and families will also be displayed for schools that chose to administer those surveys. Users with access to the Student Success data system will be able to see Conditions for Learning results based on their role. After navigating from the Ed Portal to Student Success, select Surveys from the applications menu in the upper right.
Please review the Conditions for Learning Survey Resources for helpful information on the Student Success reports, Iowa School Performance Profiles, how scores are calculated, and more.
The Panorama Education team has provided a recording of how to use and understand Conditions for Learning reports. The video demonstrates how users will log in to Student Success, view their school, district, and state Conditions for Learning scores, and learn how to use different features of the online reports.
Questions regarding the content and interpretation of the reports or the webinar can be directed to cfl@iowa.gov. Questions regarding access to and use of Student Success can be directed to support_iowa@panoramaed.com.
The third annual Iowa BEST Summit is back! Join more than 1,600 other administrators, educators, and school mental health champions for the 2023 Iowa BEST (Behavioral, Equitable, Social-Emotional, Trauma-Informed Health in Schools)Summit, October 5-6 in Des Moines, Iowa. This year’s theme is “Creating a Culture of Caring.”
- Immerse yourself in the latest research, resources, and best practices for building well-being supports and capacity in your school, district, or community
- Engage in meaningful discussions and knowledge sharing that will spark innovative solutions
- Earn one Iowa Licensure Renewal Unit
Registration is free for all Iowa education professionals and school mental health stakeholders!
Learn more and register
Help your staff and students find the right mental health care provider for their needs. Welltrack Connect - a free resource for PreK-12 educators and students in Iowa - streamlines referrals, expands access to mental health care services, and makes it easy to search for and contact licensed therapists, counselors, psychologists and psychiatric medication providers.
Your staff and students can access Welltrack Connect via the Scanlan Center for School Mental Health’s Clinical Services page or scsmh.org.welltrack-connect.com.
All PreK- 12 educators in Iowa now have free, immediate access to Togetherall, an anonymous, 24/7 digital mental health and peer support community that is monitored by mental health professionals.
Togetherall provides an online community where educators can share feelings and experiences in a confidential space with those who understand what they’re going through.
Togetherall is made available by the Scanlan Center for School Mental Health in an effort to bring around-the-clock mental health peer support to Iowa educators.
Learn more and share with your staff.
An LEA receiving an allocation of funds through the ARP ESSER formula is required to develop a safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services plan and to regularly, but no less frequently than every six months throughout the program period, review and, as appropriate, revise that plan. An LEA must seek and take public input into account in determining whether and what revisions are necessary. If, after conducting the review and taking into account public input, the LEA may determine that no revisions are necessary. As with all decisions related to ESSER funds, an LEA should be transparent and communicate to the public its determination that revisions are not necessary.
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and the Iowa Department of Education have received approval from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the Summer 2023 Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program. More information will be provided soon, including dates of disbursement and information for families. Eligibility information will be obtained from the Summer SRI data submission. Team members from the Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services may be reaching out to schools in August, September, October and November if there are questions related to student eligibility. Schools may send P-EBT questions to pebt@iowa.gov. Parent and caregiver information about the P-EBT program will be available on the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services P-EBT webpage.
To ensure your district or school has the appropriately licensed teacher check out the BEDS Crosswalk. The Crosswalk contains course SCED codes and required licensure.
The Department of Education annually reminds the field of the state and federal testing windows for all Required Student Assessments. Additional information and resources, including the State Test Security Manual, Statewide Assessment Accessibility Manual, and information on reporting testing incidents, are available on the Student Assessment (PK-12) webpage. The LINK NEEDED, Required Student Assessments 2023-2024 Required Assessments Executive Summary provides a list of all federally mandated and state assessments with required training information.
The Computer Science Incentive Fund grant application is now open for educators seeking their Computer Science or 5-12 CTE Information Technology endorsements. Please visit IowaGrants.gov funding opportunity #521311 as well as the Department’s Computer Science website for more information.
The medication administration course provided by the department required to meet the requirements of IAC 281.14.1(4) has had some recent revisions. It has been condensed and includes an additional voluntary awareness module for schools who stock emergency medications to meet IAC 281.14.3(5). In addition to the course update, the Medication Administration Manual and Medication Administration Toolkit has been updated to align with the course modules and the additional modules listed below.
The following are modules also available for your school nurse delegating medication administration:
- Medication Administration: Administering Glucagon to Students with Diabetes
- Medication Administration: Administering Seizures Medication
- Medication Administration: Administering Insulin Injections
- Medication Administration: Insulin Pumps
- Medication Administration: Gastrostomy Tubes
- Medication Administration: Administering Nebulizer Treatments
If you district has adopted a policy for stock emergency medication and administers stock emergency epinephrine auto-injectors or emergency bronchodilators or bronchodilators with spacers, the reporting form required to be submitted to the department within 48 hours is located electronically on the department of education’s School Nurse Resource page at the links:
Lastly, the Iowa Association of School Boards updated the following policies in June:
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507.02 Administration of Medication to Students
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507.02-E(1) Administration of Medication to Students - Authorization - Asthma, Airway Constricting or Respiratory Distress Medication Self-Administration Consent Form
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507.02-E(2) Administration of Medication to Students - Parental Authorization and Release Form for the Administration of Medication or Special Health Services to Students
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507.02-E(3) Administration of Medication to Students - Parental Authorization and Release Form for Independent Self Carry and Administration of Prescribed Medication or Independent Delivery of Health Services
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507.02-E(4) Administration of Medication to Students - Parental Authorization and Release Form for the Administration of Voluntary School Stock of Over-the-Counter Medication to Students
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804.5 Stock Medication Policy
Visit and subscribe to the Annual Notices and Deadlines Calendar for a list of state and federal notices and deadlines for all public and nonpublic schools.
It is the policy of the Iowa Department of Education not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, political party affiliation, or actual or potential parental, family or marital status in its programs, activities, or employment practices as required by the Iowa Code sections 216.9 and 256.10(2), Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d2000e), the Equal Pay Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 206, et seq.), Title IX (Educational Amendments, 20 U.S.C.§§ 1681 – 1688), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.). If you have questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy by the Iowa Department of Education, please contact the legal counsel for the Iowa Department of Education, Grimes State Office Building, 400 E. 14th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0146, telephone number: 515-281-5295, or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, John C. Kluczynski Federal Building, 230 S. Dearborn Street, 37th Floor, Chicago, IL 60604-7204, telephone number: 312-730-1560, FAX number: 312-730-1576, TDD number: 800-877-8339, email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov
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