Friday, June 26, 2020

DE Guidance: District Responsibilities to English Learners During COVID-19, Reopening Districts and School Activities July 1


Iowa Department of Education
District Responsibilities to English Learners During COVID-19
The Iowa Department of Education is releasing two new documents related to state and district responsibilities to English learners (ELs) during the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as a parent notice template. The details of each of the documents are described below.

Providing Services to English Learners (ELs) During the COVID-19 Outbreak Fact Sheet - Builds on the U.S. Department of Education’s May 18, 2020 fact sheet regarding the roles of states and districts in providing services to ELs during COVID-19-related school closures.

Home Language Survey Follow-Up Interview for Provisional Identification of ELs - Provides a protocol for provisionally identifying students as ELs during the COVID-19-related school closures.

2019-20 EL Program Provisional Identification and Placement Parental Notification Template - Provides a customizable template for districts to use when notifying parents and/or legal guardians about provisional placement decisions and related instructional services and supports.



Reopening Districts and School Activities July 1
New reopening guidance has been created in partnership between the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Department of Public Health as a resource for administrators to safely open districts and nonpublic schools and resume all school activities starting July 1. The guidance outlines health and safety requirements, illness reporting procedures and school district closure authority if the Governor proclaims a public health disaster. In addition, new Return-to-Learn supports are available on the Return-to-Learn Google site. You can find new items under special education, data, health and safety, and preschool.


The DE will continue to keep you informed of any new updates. All current guidance is included on the COVID-19 Guidance and Information page on their website 
with translated versions of documents available on the Translated COVID-19 Guidance and Information Documents page. In addition, recordings of the previous Zoom sessions can be found on their YouTube channel or on their COVID-19 Webinar Recordings for PK-12 School Administrators in Iowa webpage (along with PowerPoint slides as applicable). 

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