The Iowa Department of Education has opened the new application period for the 2026-27 Career Academy Incentive Fund. Grant applications will be accepted through Nov. 13, 2026, for the fall grant cycle. 

The Career Academy Incentive Fund supports increased access to career academy programs through regional centers and highlights partnerships between school districts, community colleges, business and industry and other partners. Successful proposals promote equitable access to high-quality career and technical education programs and include at least one school district and one community college. Priority consideration will be given to applicants who focus on programming delivered to at least four school districts. The Department will also consider tier 2 proposals that improve or expand existing career academies delivered through a regional center.

Through the 2019 Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) initiative, the Career Academy Incentive Fund annually awards up to $5 million in grants for projects that support career academy partnerships between community colleges, school districts, business and industry and other education and community stakeholders. Opportunities supported by the Career Academy Incentive Fund increase student access to higher education, industry-recognized credentials, valuable connections with employers and the discovery of potential career pathways.

For more information, please contact contact Bureau of CTE and Postsecondary Readiness Administrative Consultant Heather Meissen at heather.meissen@iowa.gov.

The Department recently published its annual letter to the field, summarizing education legislation enacted during the 2026 Session of the 91st Iowa General Assembly.

The letter details the impact of new legislation on the Department's four priorities of:

• Supporting a strong teacher pipeline
• Strengthening evidence-based literacy and math instruction
• Narrowing and closing achievement gaps through accountability and support
• Empowering students with multiple pathways to postsecondary success
• Promoting vibrant, safe and healthy learning environments

The letter to the field also includes summaries of:

• Appropriations
• Additional updates

Each legislation summary includes Implementation updates and a designated point of contact. Please note that the linked implementation supports will be updated as noted resources become available.

WTED, Gap and PACE annual reports are due Sept. 30, 2026.  Each college's program contact will be emailed their college's reporting spreadsheets by early August. 

A meeting for WTED report preparers has been scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 11. Meeting invites have been sent to college WTED contacts, but other interested individuals can contact Bureau of Community Colleges Administrative Consultant Robin Shaffer Lilienthal at robin.lilienthal@iowa.gov or a meeting invite. 

Gap and PACE reporting virtual office hours are scheduled for Monday, Aug. 17 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Robin Shaffer Lilienthal will be available to answer any PACE and Gap reporting questions over zoom. 

DMACC, Eastern Iowa, Iowa Central and Iowa Western recently became the first colleges in Iowa to achieve Governor's state certification which allows for review and approval by the U.S. Department of Education for the Workforce Pell program. 

Nine programs were approved in the fields of CDL, EMT, Manufacturing Maintenance, Residential HVAC and CNC. Eleven other programs applied but missed the 12-month lookback window in one or more of the required outcomes. We anticipate those and other Iowa Workforce Pell programs will be eligible for U.S. Department of Education approval in the coming year.

The Statewide Implementation Team will open the next round of Workforce Pell applications in mid August. The application cycle will close on Friday, Oct. 16 for review of applications at the Dec. 4 State Workforce Development board meeting.

In addition, the most recent list of eligible H3 statewide and regional occupations was approved. This list with the corresponding SOC and CIP codes is available on the state Workforce Pell website. Questions can be directed to workforcepell@iowa.gov