273.10 - ACCREDITATION OF AREA EDUCATION PROGRAMS.
273.10 ACCREDITATION OF AREA EDUCATION PROGRAMS.
1. The department of education shall develop, in consultation
with the area education agencies, and establish an accreditation
process for area education agencies by July 1, 1997. At a minimum,
the accreditation process shall consist of the following:
a. The timely submission by an area education agency of
information required by the department on forms provided by the
department.
b. The use of an accreditation team appointed by the director
of the department of education to conduct an evaluation, including an
on-site visit of each area education agency. The team shall include,
but is not limited to, department staff members, representatives from
the school districts served by the area education agency being
evaluated, area education agency staff members from area education
agencies other than the area education agency that conducts the
programs being evaluated for accreditation, and other team members
with expertise as deemed appropriate by the director.
2. Prior to a visit to an area education agency, the
accreditation team shall have access to that area education agency's
program audit report filed with the department. After a visit to an
area education agency, the accreditation team shall determine whether
the accreditation standards for a program have been met and shall
make a report to the director and the state board, together with a
recommendation as to whether the programs of the area education
agency should receive initial accreditation or remain accredited.
The accreditation team shall report strengths and weaknesses, if any,
for each accreditation standard and shall advise the area education
agency of available resources and technical assistance to further
enhance the strengths and improve areas of weakness. An area
education agency may respond to the accreditation team's report.
3. The state board of education shall determine whether a program
of an area education agency shall receive initial accreditation or
shall remain accredited.
a. Approval of area education agency programs by the state
board shall be based upon the recommendation of the director of the
department of education after a study of the factual and evaluative
evidence on record about each area education agency program in terms
of the accreditation standards adopted by the state board.
b. Approval, if granted, shall be for a term of five years.
However, the state board may grant conditional approval for a term of
less than five years if conditions warrant.
4. If the state board of education determines that an area
education agency's program does not meet accreditation standards, the
director of the department of education, in cooperation with the
board of directors of the area education agency, shall establish a
remediation plan prescribing the procedures that must be taken to
correct deficiencies in meeting the program standards, and shall
establish a deadline date for correction of the deficiencies. The
remediation plan is subject to the approval of the state board.
5. The area education agency program shall remain accredited
during the implementation of the remediation plan. The accreditation
team shall visit the area education agency and shall determine
whether the deficiencies in the standards for the program have been
corrected and shall make a report and recommendation to the director
and the state board of education. The state board shall review the
report and recommendation and shall determine whether the
deficiencies in the program have been corrected.
6. a. If the deficiencies in an area education program have
not been corrected, the agency board shall take one of the following
actions within sixty days from removal of accreditation:
(1) Merge the deficient program with a program from another
accredited area education agency.
(2) Contract with another area education agency or other public
educational institution for purposes of program delivery.
b. The rules developed by the state board of education for
the accreditation process shall include provisions for removal of
accreditation, including provisions for proper notice to the
administrator of the area education agency, each member of the board
of directors of the area education agency, and the superintendents
and administrators of the schools of the districts served by the area
education agency. Section History: Recent Form
96 Acts, ch 1215, §49; 2001 Acts, ch 114, §1; 2009 Acts, ch 41,
§263
Referred to in § 273.23