DE Provides Canvas LMS to All Iowa Schools at No Cost

The Iowa Department of Education will provide all Iowa public school districts, nonpublic schools and homeschool students with access to the Canvas Learning Management System for one year — at no cost to schools or families. This system will provide teachers and students the capability to participate in high-quality digital teaching and learning environments in Kindergarten through 12th grade.

Using federal CARES Act dollars, the Department will make use of the State's existing contract with Instructure (Canvas' parent company) to make the Canvas platform available statewide. We are moving as quickly as possible to work out the operational details with Canvas, and will keep you informed as details emerge.

Canvas is in the process of creating an Iowa-specific information web page that we will share as soon as it is available to provide additional details on the capabilities of the platform. In the meantime, Canvas’s K-12 video provides an overview for teachers on how the system is easy to use and easy for teachers to implement with their students. The Department will be sending out a survey via the CASA system to inquire about your district/school's interest in using Canvas and the number of users who will participate.