256C.3 - PRESCHOOL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
256C.3 PRESCHOOL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
1. Eligible children. A child who is a resident of Iowa and
is four years of age on or before September 15 of a school year shall
be eligible to enroll in the preschool program under this chapter.
If space and funding are available, a school district approved to
participate in the preschool program may enroll a younger or older
child in the preschool program; however, the child shall not be
counted for state funding purposes.
2. Teacher requirements.
a. An individual serving as a teacher in the preschool
program must meet all of the following qualifications:
(1) The individual is either employed by or under contract with
the school district implementing the program.
(2) The individual is appropriately licensed under chapter 272
and meets requirements under chapter 284.
(3) The individual possesses a bachelor's or graduate degree from
an accredited college or university with a major in early childhood
education or other appropriate major identified in rule by the
department.
b. A teacher in the preschool program shall collaborate with
other agencies, organizations, and boards in the community to further
the program's capacity to meet the diverse needs of the children
taught by the teacher and the families of the children, such as needs
for early care, health, and human services. In addition, a teacher
in the preschool program shall work to maintain relationships with
each child's family in order to enhance the child's development in
all settings by collaborating with providers of parent education and
family support opportunities.
3. Program requirements. The state board shall adopt rules
to further define the following preschool program requirements which
shall be used to determine whether or not a local program implemented
by a school district approved to implement the preschool program
qualifies as an approved local program:
a. Maximum and minimum teacher-to-child ratios and class
sizes.
b. Applicable state and federal program standards.
c. Student learning standards.
d. Provisions for the integration of children from other
state and federally funded preschools.
e. Collaboration with participating families, early care
providers, and community partners including but not limited to
community empowerment area boards, head start programs, shared
visions and other programs provided under the auspices of the child
development coordinating council, licensed child care centers,
registered child development homes, area education agencies, child
care resource and referral services provided under section 237A.26,
early childhood special education programs, services funded by Title
I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and
family support programs.
f. A minimum of ten hours per week of instruction delivered
on the skills and knowledge included in the student learning
standards developed for the preschool program.
g. Parental involvement in the local program.
h. Provision for ensuring that children receiving care from
other child care arrangements can participate in the preschool
program with minimal disruption due to transportation and movement
from one site to another.
4. School district requirements. The state board shall adopt
rules to further define the following requirements of school
districts implementing the preschool program:
a. Methods of demonstrating community readiness to implement
high-quality instruction in a local program shall be identified. The
potential provider shall submit a collaborative program proposal that
demonstrates the involvement of multiple community stakeholders
including but not limited to, and only as applicable, parents, the
school district, accredited nonpublic schools and faith-based
representatives, the area education agency, the community empowerment
area board, representatives of business, head start programs, shared
visions and other programs provided under the auspices of the child
development coordinating council, center-based and home-based
providers of child care services, human services, public health, and
economic development programs. The methods may include but are not
limited to a school district providing evidence of a public hearing
on the proposed programming and written documentation of
collaboration agreements between the school district, existing
community providers, and other community stakeholders addressing
operational procedures and other critical measures.
b. Subject to implementation of chapter 28E agreements
between a school district and community-based providers of services
to four-year-old children, a four-year-old child who is enrolled in a
child care center or child development home licensed or registered
under chapter 237A, or in an existing public or private preschool
program, shall be eligible for services provided by the school
district's local preschool program.
c. A school district shall participate in data collection and
performance measurement processes and reporting as defined by rule.
d. Professional development for school district preschool
teachers shall be addressed in the school district's professional
development plan implemented in accordance with section 284.6.
5. Department requirements.
a. The department shall implement an application and
selection process for school district participation in the preschool
program that includes but is not limited to the enrollment
requirements provided under section 256C.4.
b. The department shall track the progress of students served
by a school district preschool program and the students' performance
in elementary and secondary education.
c. The department shall implement procedures to monitor the
quality of the programming provided under the preschool program.
d. The state board, in collaboration with the department,
shall ensure that the administrative rules adopted to support the
preschool program emphasize that children's access to the program is
voluntary, that the preschool foundation aid provided to a school
district is provided based upon the enrollment of eligible students
in the school district's local program regardless of whether an
eligible student is a resident of the school district, and that
agreements entered into by a school district for the provision of
programming in settings other than the school district's facilities
are between the school district and the private provider. Section History: Recent Form
2007 Acts, ch 148, §3; 2007 Acts, ch 215, §100; 2008 Acts, ch
1032, § 42; 2008 Acts, ch 1181, § 67, 74
Referred to in § 256C.1 Footnotes
Legislative intent that statewide early childhood professional
development system be designed to support statewide preschool program
for four-year-old children; 2008 Acts, ch 1181, § 73