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The Department has selected EPS Learning to provide an innovative, online literacy program called EPS Reading Assistant to Iowa schools at no cost. Firmly grounded in the science of reading, the reading assistant delivers personalized reading practice and in-the-moment tutoring. It uses safe, effective artificial intelligence (AI) to listen, assess, and tutor students in foundational reading skills, based on each student’s zone of proximal development. As students read aloud, a digital avatar named Amira listens, assesses, and intervenes when they struggle, providing corrective feedback and encouraging support.
For information about this opportunity, please visit Iowa Reading Assistant Sign-Up | EPS Learning or contact Elementary Literacy Consultant April Gosselink-Lemke at april.gosselink-lemke@iowa.gov.
The 2024 Letter to the Field outlines legislation passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Reynolds. It is organized by content area with legislation hyperlinked and additional resources noted.
Please contact Legislative Liaison Eric St Clair at eric.stclair@iowa.gov or 515-326-0274 with questions regarding legislation passed during the 2024 session.
The updated Chapter 12 matrix reflects substantive updates, including a feature that allows users to select the topic of interest using bookmarks to more efficiently navigate the document.
The Department developed a model Personalized Reading Plan that districts may use or adapt to meet the legislative requirements of House File 2618. The legislation states, “A school district shall provide to students in kindergarten through the end of grade six who are not reading proficiently with personalized reading plans until the student is reading at grade level, as determined by the student's consistently proficient performance on valid and reliable measures of reading ability.”
Districts can choose to use this model or develop and use a plan of their own while considering the key components of the model plan.
Please contact Science of Reading and Dyslexia Consultant Wanda Steuri at wanda.steuri@iowa.gov with questions.
Senate File 2435, Division VII made revisions to public school attendance requirements that took effect July 1, 2024. The summary of Senate File 2435 can be viewed on the Department’s Attendance and Chronic Absenteeism webpage.
A summary of the changes include:
- Requires districts to adopt an attendance policy.
- Outlines six attendance exemptions to local truancy determinations and required actions based on local discretion.
- Requires initiative of student engagement meetings with families whose students were absent 15% or more of the days or hours in the grading period.
- Provides enforcement responsibilities to county attorneys regarding chronically absent students.
Please see resources, including the Senate File 2435 Summary for Schools and the 2024-25 Attendance Coding Technical Assistance document, available to inform attendance decisions made across Student Information Systems (SIS) at the local level on the Department’s Attendance and Chronic Absenteeism webpage.
Senate File 2435, Division VIII made revisions to open enrollment that took effect July 1, 2024. A summary of the changes include:
- Reinstatement of the March 1 deadline for grades 1-12 and reinstatement of the Sept. 1 deadline for preschool students with IEPs who would be eligible to be counted on certified enrollment and incoming kindergarten students.
- Reinstatement of good cause circumstances for waiving the deadline.
- Reinstatement of the appeals process to the State Board of Education for applicants who are denied open enrollment and allege pervasive harassment or a serious health condition.
- Additional clause for the receiving district school board to terminate an open enrollment agreement for students defined as truant after sending notification to the parent/guardian and being offered the opportunity for a school board hearing.
The March deadline does not apply when parents/guardians apply for their student to open enroll at a state-approved online school.
Please see resources, including the Iowa Open Enrollment Application Updated per Senate File 2435, Division VIII, Open Enrollment Handbook, and Open Enrollment Transportation Assistance technical assistance documents, available on the Department’s Open Enrollment webpage.
HF2612 Implementation FAQs are available on the Department’s HF2612 Implementation webpage. The implementation FAQs are organized by the following topics: TSS Calculation, Use of TSS Funds, Teacher Experience, Teacher Eligibility and BEDS Data, Education Support Personnel Salary Supplement, and Special Education, Educational, and Media Services Funding.
- The new CTE Authorization and Work-Based Learning fact sheet outlines new and existing options of the endorsements, education and experience required to teach career and technical education (CTE) courses or serve as a supervisor of work-based learning programs for grades 5-12.
- Forms to start the school year with a substitute (Vacant Position Form) and to request extended time for a substitute are open for school district requests. More information is available in the License Tips for Administrators.
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Registration for Round 4 of LETRS is open through Sept. 6, 2024. We encourage you to sign up your districts/buildings now, as this is the last statewide round offered at this time. To sign up a cohort of 30-43 people, use the Building / District registration form.
Individuals in any of the following groups can sign up for LETRS: kindergarten - grade 5 educators, middle school special education or interventionist, and administrators. Sign up at Iowa Individual LETRS Professional Learning Registration Form. Early childhood educators who wish to sign up as individuals should use the Iowa individual LETRS EC Professional Learning Registration Form.
Please contact IALETRS@iowa.gov with questions.
Education Visualization and Analytics Solution (EVAAS) training events are being offered at six regional locations throughout the month of September. Trainers will be available to help Iowa educators work through their own data to find actionable items to positively impact student outcomes. Two sessions that build upon each other are being offered on each date:
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EVAAS 101: Educators will work to obtain a deeper understanding of the tool and its functionality while systematically working through their own data to find actionable items that may positively impact student outcomes.
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User Account Support: Trainers will offer personalized support with EVAAS account management to ensure that the right people have the right permissions.
Please use the Registration Link and contact Administrative Consultant Greg Feldmann at greg.feldmann@iowa.gov with questions.
In preparation for the upcoming school year, district leaders are encouraged to review the following list of ACHIEVE tasks and training opportunities.
- Review the LEA User manager webinar and training materials available on the Department’s Special Education State Guidance webpage.
- Engage in Family Contact Validation Training, which is recorded with posted training materials on the Department’s Special Education State Guidance webpage.
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Complete the Student Information System/ACHIEVE Rollover process to update learner demographic data.
The updated Iowa School Counseling Framework can be found on the Department's school counseling webpage. The Framework provides a model to support district implementation of a comprehensive school counseling program.
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The Teach Iowa Scholar (TIS) program application will open Sept. 1. The state-funded program provides loan repayment or an income bonus award of up to $4,000 for a maximum of five years to Iowa teachers teaching in designated content shortage areas in Iowa schools. Eligibility criteria and awarding priorities can be found on the Teach Iowa Scholar (TIS) Program webpage. Applications must be submitted on or before Oct. 31, 2024.
Developers and deliverers of exemplary STEM programs are invited to compete to scale their program(s) throughout the state for the 2025-26 school year. Applications will close on Sept. 10, 2024 at 4:59 p.m. Please see more information on the STEM Scale-Up webpage.
Shared Visions Preschool Grants will be available in November with information on the Shared Visions Preschool webpage.
Shared Visions Parent Support grant applications will be available in January 2025. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis contingent upon the state appropriation. Parent Support grants support home and group-based services for families with children ages birth to five meeting risk factors. More information will be posted on the Shared Visions Parent Support webpage as it becomes available.
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The certification deadline for the Graduate Verification and the Supplementary Weighting Non-Fall application is Aug. 28, 2024.
Cedar Connect is open for districts and nonpublic buildings that report student-level data via SRI to take a snapshot and start clearing up errors prior to the Oct. 15 due date. Find training opportunities, upcoming deadlines, and current documentation on the SRI webpage.
Please contact SRI Consultants Margaret Hanson at margaret.hanson@iowa.gov or Rachel Kruse at rachel.kruse@iowa.gov with questions.
The Department is seeking public comment through Sept. 5, 2024, on the proposed State Determined Levels of Performance for academic years 2024-29, which are included in the Draft Iowa Perkins V Accountability for Continuation of State Plan.
Please submit feedback by email to cte@iowa.gov or via USPS mail to the Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Community Colleges and Postsecondary Readiness, 400 E 14th St, Des Moines, IA 50319.
As an annual reminder, refer to the BEDS Crosswalk to verify teachers at your school or district are appropriately licensed for the courses they are assigned to teach before the start of school. The Crosswalk contains course SCED codes and required licensure.
Please contact BEDS Consultant Shelly Neese Wolterman at shelly.neese@iowa.gov with questions.
The Department is collecting contact information for designated Equity Coordinators for this upcoming school year. Under federal law, each school district that receives federal funds is required to assign responsibility for coordinating compliance with civil rights laws, including nondiscrimination in educational programs and employment, to one or more employees. These individuals may have different titles at different schools, such as civil rights coordinators, equity coordinators, Title IX coordinators, Title VI coordinators, Section 504 coordinators, ADA coordinators, disability rights coordinators, etc. Each school district should provide updated contact information for those serving in this role in the Assurances 2024-25 data collection located in the “Assurances" folder of the Consolidated Accountability and Support Application (CASA) no later than Sept. 15, 2024.
Please contact Equity Compliance Administrative Consultant SueAnn Johnson at sueann.johnson@iowa.gov with questions.
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 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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