Changes Made to Statewide Special Ed Procedures Manual

The AEA Directors of Special Education approved changes to the statewide SPED Procedures Manual at their January 2010 meeting. The changes were made to provide additional clarification and address issues of concern that had been raised since the beginning of this school year. Click here to see the Release Notes that highlight the changes that were made in this revision to the Procedures Manual. There are no changes to the Documentation Guide at this time.

An updated version of the Special Education Procedures and Special Education Documentation Guide has been posted at www.iowaidea.org. To access these documents in addition to the Release Notes for this version of the Procedures: 1. Go to www.iowaidea.org. 2. Click on the IEP link. 3. Move your cursor on top of the words “Statewide Special Education Procedures” (menu on the left hand side of the screen) and click on “Manual.” 4. Click on the link of the document you wish to view:

If you have any difficulty accessing these documents, please contact Michelle Tressel at mtressel@aea10.k12.ia.us.

If you have not already signed up to receive News Updates from the Iowa IDEA website, please take a moment to do so. You can access the link from their home page, directly under the “Front Page” link.

Correction to Heartland Calendar of Major Events

The calendar of major events that was included in last week's Connection was incomplete. Click here to download the correct version of the calendar. It contains the major events and start dates for Heartland AEA staff. We are currently working to schedule all professional development opportunities for next year. An expanded calendar should be available early in March.

Requested Action: Input Needed for Heartland AEA Service Decision-Making

As you know, Heartland AEA will be facing challenges with our budget in the coming school years as will all school districts in Iowa. When making decisions about programs and services and the implications for our budget, it is essential for us to have input from districts. At the Superintendent Advisory Committee (SAC) this week, the SAC decided to use a portion of the March Heartland Administrators Association meeting to give superintendents an opportunity to provide input for Heartland AEA decision-making about programs and services. The SAC also suggested that each superintendent gather data from their administrative team prior to this meeting. Partnership Directors will be contacting superintendents to provide instructions for data collection and to offer to assist with facilitation. The Curriculum Network will engage in a similar activity at their March meeting. We are very grateful for the time that local administrators spend in providing us this vital input. If you have questions, please contact your Partnership Director.