The Iowa Department of Education and Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) are announcing the launch of a new early intervention and special education guidance system, known as Iowa IDEA Information (i3). It was developed collaboratively with local districts and with input from parents and partner agencies from across Iowa.
The launch of i3 means the phasing out of the current Iowa IDEA Info site, including AEA Special Education Procedures. The i3 system will bring with it enhancements that will prove to be invaluable to users, such as:
- A one-stop shop for IFSP and IEP procedures and resources
- User-friendly formatting for easy site navigation
- Increased options for searching content and resources
- Ability to allow for real-time updates with built-in options to clearly communicate updates to users
- Translation options
Currently, training opportunities and materials are in development and will be available in mid-July. The Department and AEAs will partner with local districts to ensure the information on i3 is available to families, as well as other community partners.
The new IEP/IFSP system, which will be known as ACHIEVE, will be aligned with the i3 system once it is released during the 2021-22 school year. These two aligned components, when complete, will position Iowa’s educational professionals to continue to provide the highest quality support for students with disabilities well into the future.
Reminder: Be sure to stay current with the latest DE guidance on Return-to-Learn special education information on this tab of the DE’s Return-to-Learn website.
- New 7-15-20 Return-to-Learn Compendium of Resources - This document organizes available resources and will be revised on an ongoing basis. The resources provided here are to address the standard of IDEA under the current pandemic situation.
- New 7-13-20 Return to Learn and FAPE - This document builds from the Department of Education's guidance on the fundamentals of FAPE to include examples of FAPE considerations in continuous learning and hybrid learning environments.
- New 7-13-20 Return to Lean and Service Delivery Scenarios - The purpose of this document is to support teams in navigating between appropriate methods of service delivery for students in a Continuous Learning (i.e., virtual) model. These services can and may change throughout the school year and between settings as teams determine what is required to best meet student needs.
Beginning July 14, via Zoom the DE will host a series of weekly webinars focused exclusively on special education Return-to-Learn topics. These webinars are intended to delve deeper into the application of special education regulations to continuous learning and hybrid models of delivery. Please share this invitation with special education administrators and others in your district who might be interested. This week’s webinar will provide supports for IEP teams as they focus on identifying free appropriate public education (FAPE) for individuals eligible for special education. In addition to reviewing new documents on FAPE and service delivery, the discussion will address ways to include student needs to access, participate and progress in virtual and hybrid learning environments within the IEP.
