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  February 2025
 Department Updates
Nominate a Top Educator as the Next Iowa Teacher of the Year Today
Submit a Request to Recognize High-Quality Industry-Recognized Credentials Now
Credentials to Child Care Careers (C4) Final Grants Awarded
Professional Learning Opportunities
Register for Evidence-based Preschool Foundations Professional Learning Now
Register for Free Governor's School Safety Bureau Training Now
Updated Resources on the Use of Special Education Funds
Special Education Policy and Practice Webinar Series and Resources Available
Register for School Nutrition Summer Training
Register for USDA Foods Informational Webinars
Register for 2025 Conditions for Learning Survey Planning Webinar
Grant & Engagement Opportunities
Let Us Know How to Support Work-Based Learning in Your Community Today
Register for EVAAS and Roster Verification Training
Reporting of Construction/Renovation Projects
Upcoming Deadlines
Initial AEA Evidence-Based Professional Development List Provided
Set Up a New Iowa Education Portal Login ID Now
Annual Notices and Deadlines Calendar
Annual Notices and Deadlines Calendar
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If you know an outstanding Iowa teacher, we want to hear from you! The Iowa Department of Education is now accepting nominations for the 2026 Iowa Teacher of the Year through March 7.
Anyone, including fellow educator colleagues, administrators, students and their parents, association or organization members and other community partners, can submit a nomination form for an exceptional K-12 teacher who is making an impact in an Iowa school. Self-nominations and nominations by a teacher’s family are not accepted at this time.
Nominated teachers will be invited to submit an application and additional information to the Department for further consideration. Each nomination will be reviewed by a selection committee, and nine finalists representing teachers from all regions of the state will be named as Regional Teachers of the Year. Through an interview process with education leaders, one of the Regional Teachers of the Year will be selected to serve as the 2026 Iowa Teacher of the Year.
For more information, visit the Iowa Teacher of the Year webpage or contact Stefanie Wager, Department administrative consultant, at stefanie.wager@iowa.gov.
The form to request that Industry-Recognized Credentials (IRC) be added to the state-approved secondary IRC list is now open.The deadline to submit requests is Friday, March 14. Requests will not be accepted after this deadline for the 2025 Credentials to Careers grant cycle and the 2025-26 Iowa School Performance Profiles.
IRCs approved through this request process will be added to the Approved IRC list for the 2025-26 school year. IRCs on the approved list must have third-party validation and the support of five businesses. They must also have clearly stated competencies and be portable and stackable. The third party awarding the IRC must be transparent regarding the assessment process, value to employers and performance needed to obtain the credential.
The form to submit IRCs can be found on the Department’s website.
Please contact Administrative Consultant for Career and Technical Education Heather Meissen at heather.meissen@iowa.gov with questions.
The Department made a third round of Credentials to Child Care Careers (C4) grants, supporting a total of 13 awards to strengthen the early childhood workforce and state early child care, health and education efforts. The grants support districts in aligning family and consumer science programs with student attainment of a national child development credential, leveraging school-community partnerships to expand access to child care and support a child care workforce that is of and for local communities.
Congratulations to the awardees: Central Lyon Community School District, Charles City Community School District, Clear Creek Amana Community School District, Des Moines Public Schools, Harlan Community School District, Iowa City Community School District, LeMars Community School District, Marshalltown Community School District and Woodbine Community School District.
Additional information on Credentials to Child Care Careers (C4) Grant can be found on the Department’s website.
Please contact Bureau Chief Kimberly Vilotti at kimberly.vilotti@iowa.gov with questions.
Gradual implementation of the newly published USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) rule will occur over the upcoming school years. Beginning July 1, 2025, limits will be implemented for specific high-sugar products, including cereals, yogurt and flavored milk. Additionally, the rule established a threshold limiting exceptions to the Buy American requirement. The full publication is Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services will offer several summer training opportunities to assist with these changes and understanding of other USDA regulatory requirements. Registration will open soon; be sure to save the dates:
- Putting the Puzzle Pieces of Procurement Together, provided by the Urban School Food Alliance at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny on May 28
- Healthy School Meal Regional Workshops: West Des Moines on June 4, Storm Lake on June 10, Waterloo on June 11, Fairfield on June 12 and Council Bluffs area (date TBD)
- Farm to School Regional Culinary Training: North Liberty on July 9, Keokuk on July 10, Storm Lake on July 16, Council Bluffs on July 17, Waukee on July 23 and Clear Lake on July 24
- Back to School Conference, FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny on July 29 and 30
For additional information, please contact your assigned school nutrition consultant.
The USDA Foods program supports Child Nutrition Programs and American agricultural producers by purchasing 100% American-grown and -produced foods for use by schools and institutions participating in the National School Lunch Program. On average, USDA Foods make up between 15 and 20 percent of the products served as part of a school lunch. Every dollar's worth of USDA Foods used in a school menu frees up money a School Food Authority (SFA) would otherwise spend on commercial food purchases, so it is important to maximize usage of USDA Foods every school year.
The Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services is presenting a series of webinars discussing the three USDA Foods program options and how SFAs can participate for 2025-26:
Please contact Sarah White, USDA Foods Consultant, sarah.white@iowa.gov with questions.
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The Department is hosting Preschool Foundations: High-Quality Universal Tier in Preschool virtual training in April. Dr. Jennifer Grisham will discuss how essential elements of belonging, assessment, planning, teaching and involving families combine to create a strong and robust universal tier for learning in preschool programs.
The two-day series is scheduled on April 2 and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will engage participants in thinking, discussing and reflecting on evidence-based practices and recommendations for their own classrooms.
There is no cost for participants, and license renewal credit is available for an additional fee.
Interested preschool teaching staff and administrators should register before Wednesday, March 26, as space is limited. Preschool Foundations Flyer 2025
Please contact consultant Marcie Lentsch at marcie.lentsch@iowa.gov for questions.
The Governor’s School Safety Bureau is offering free training that will assist law enforcement, prosecutors, juvenile court officials, school administrators and school safety partners with best practices in investigating and processing school safety threats. Objectives for the training include understanding school safety threats, how to process Safe and Sound Iowa tip submissions, accessing data from technology companies, prosecutorial response to a juvenile offense and school administrator perspective on immediate threats and community response.
The training will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on March 10 at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny. Registration for the training is now open.
Distribution and Use of State and Federal Special Education Allocations Beginning July 1, 2025 provides information about the allocation and payment of state special education funds from the district to the AEA. It also provides information on the services and supports the AEA is expected to provide with the 90 percent of state special education funds.
AEA Special Education Funded Staff Involvement in General Education Interventions provides information on the role of staff who are entirely funded with special education funds in MTSS and general education interventions.
Please contact Division Administrative Angelisa Fynaardt at angelisa.fynaardt@iowa.gov for questions.
The Department has launched an engaging special education webinar series available to any administrator or educator with special education responsibilities. The Special Education Policy and Practice webinars highlight important and emerging special education policies and how to apply them.
Participants can join the webinars via Zoom using the passcode 431127.
Recordings and resources from prior sessions are located on the Department’s Special Education and Guidance webpage and include:
Upcoming webinars and topics are scheduled for
- April 9, 2025: Least Restrictive Environment
- May 14, 2025: Principles of FAPE
Please contact the Student Instruction, Evaluation and Services Consultant Mary Beilke mary.beilke@iowa.gov with questions.
Similar to previous years, the student portion of the 2025 Conditions for Learning (CfL) survey will be available to interested Iowa schools in April. The CfL Student survey is not an indicator in the ESSA accountability index, but it continues to provide important data that assists in continuous school improvement. Since the survey is no longer included in the accountability index, active opt-in parent/guardian consent is required.
As a reminder, the CfL Staff and Parent/Family survey will no longer be housed in Panorama Student Success. If schools are interested in continuing to administer these surveys, the Department will provide them with the questions and user guide to administer at the local level. Staff and Parent/Family survey data from previous years will no longer be available to view after April 1. Districts and schools that wish to have future access to data will need to download their previous survey results prior to April 1.
A kick-off webinar will be provided for the schools planning to administer the student portion of the survey register. To attend, register for the webinar on March 24 at 3:30 p.m. The webinar will provide an overview of the survey process, logistics and best practices to ensure proper administration of the survey and high response rates.
Please contact Administrative Consultant Greg Feldman at greg.feldman@iowa.gov for questions.
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With recent legislation defining high-quality work-based learning (WBL) experiences and the inclusion of WBL attainment in Iowa’s Postsecondary Readiness Index, the Department is working with Iowa Workforce Development to further support local school-employer WBL partnerships. We invite all administrators and relevant educators to complete the survey to indicate the types of WBL offered at your school district and the types of opportunities you would like to expand or offer in the future.
Please contact Administrative Consultant for Career and Technical Education Heather Meissen at heather.meissen@iowa.gov or Business Engagement Liaison with Iowa Workforce Development Kathy Leggett at kathy.leggett@iwd.iowa.gov with questions.
The Department has partnered with SAS to provide the EVAAS platform to all districts at no cost. EVAAS includes in-depth reporting of assessment results focusing on student growth. To support use of the platform, the Department will provide six EVAAS training opportunities. These will include learning basic EVAAS reporting features and specifics for Roster Verification. Roster Verification is required for schools that applied for the Teacher Accelerating Learning (TAL) grant.
Upcoming training dates will be held at the following locations:
- Tuesday, March 11, Mississippi Bend, Bettendorf
- Wednesday, March 12, Grant Wood, Cedar Rapids
- Thursday, March 13, Central Rivers, Clear Lake
- Tuesday, March 25 Great Prairie, Ottumwa
- Wednesday, March 26, Heartland, Adel
- Thursday, March 27, Northwest, Sioux City
Registration is required to attend an upcoming EVAAS training opportunity
Please contact Administrative Consultant Greg Feldman at greg.feldman@iowa.gov for questions.
There were 16 notified LEAs that used $1 million or more of ARP funds for major construction/renovation projects that must file a Notice of Federal Interest (NFI). Please review any purchases made by your LEA that would fall within the same scope to assure that you are not required to also file an NFI. All subgrantees that used ESF monies for construction/renovation signed an assurance in CASA to follow federal requirements that include filing the NFI. It is requested that districts file their NFIs as soon as possible to the Department.
In addition, LEAs that used Emergency Relief Funds on renovation, major remodeling, construction or real property purchases are required to annually report to the Department on the status of such purchases for at least the first 15 years per guidance provided in this link: https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/2022/12/ESSER-and-GEER-Use-of-Funds-FAQs-December-7-2022-Update-1.pdf (see specifically B-6.e on page 33). The Department is working on the forms of communication for this required reporting and will be in touch with the LEAs in the next month, including an annual deadline.
Please send any questions to our ESSER team at esser@iowa.gov.
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In accordance with the requirements of Iowa Code 256.9(36) and 273.2(3)b, the Department shared an initial list based on the first submission window of professional development AEAs are authorized to provide during the 2025-26 school year. A second submission window opened on Jan. 31, 2025, and the final approved list will be published March 31, 2025. This new statutory process helps ensure consistent, evidence-based professional development offerings across the state that support the implementation and continuous improvement of Iowa’s strategic priorities.
Please contact PK-12 Division Administrator Tina Wahlert at tina.wahlert@iowa.gov with questions.
To further enhance the security of our systems, the Department is making an important update to implement multifactor authentication (MFA) for the Iowa Education portal (EdPortal or https://portal.ed.iowa.gov). All external users will need a new login ID. In the upcoming month, users will receive communication regarding the sign-in change for EdPortal from Enterprise A&A to Okta (ID.iowa.gov). All active accounts will receive instruction on how to create an account. This email is legitimate; please follow the directions.
Please contact the Portal helpdesk (ed.portal@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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