You’re Invited to Participate: Research Study to Focus on Teacher Leadership Systems

This study will help to discover how and why teacher leaders enact chosen instructional teacher leadership practices in school settings. If you have any questions, read this research backgrounder or contact Jeffrey Lear, Pennsylvania D.Ed. Candidate, Indiana University of PA, at (484) 264-0760.

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not imply sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.

Legislative Alert: 1 cent Tax Change, Affects Tech & Computer Purchases

The Iowa Department of Revenue is proposing a major tax change using the administrative rules process. The effect of the proposed change would be to eliminate technology and computer purchases from Iowa's 1 cent sales tax for schools.

On Oct. 13, the Administrative Rules Review Committee of the Iowa Legislature will discuss the proposed rule change, which is estimated to reduce corporate taxes by at least $37 million a year. This proposal, which was rejected in 2013 by the Legislature, would mean Iowa would have $37 million LESS each year to invest in education.

Those wishing to attend this hearing should be at the Iowa State Capitol, Room 116, Oct. 13 by 10:30 a.m. Short statements from attendees may be allowed at the hearing. Please consider attending the public hearing and/or sending your comments to the Governor.

School District Boundary Request from DE

We have been asked if the maps developed through the AEAs for census purposes meet the requirements of the recent mapping request from the Department of Education. The short answer is no; the census maps are based on different criteria. For a more detailed explanation, please see the note below. In the event the census maps are helpful, this link to the maps is included for your use.

Note from Jodi Flory, SDRP Coordinator:

To clarify, we need "legal boundaries" - a GIS/CAD layer (or map) that most closely defines the actual district boundary being used by the district. The director districts that are submitted to the Sec. of State are different in that they are forced to use Census Block boundaries to define the district boundary in order to tabulate population to comply with the constitutional One person:One vote rule. Census block geographies do not align properly with the geographic basis of school districts in most cases. The SDRP effort we are working on actually works to effectively adjust Census Block boundaries to the true school district geography. Thus, maps based solely from Census geographies are not suitable for this effort. If no legal district boundary exists for a school district, our next best data source for district boundaries is the county assessor, with school districts being a taxing base.

If a district has a legal boundary that has been digitized into a map (GIS/CAD), that is the best/preferred source. If that is not available, we would like a copy of the legal description so we can have a record of that, and if time permits, we will digitize ourselves. If no legal exists, we will attempt to gather a parcel-based district layer from the county.

If you have any questions, contact Jodi Flory, SDRP Coordinator, at (970) 409-9238.