256C.3 - PRESCHOOL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.

        256C.3  PRESCHOOL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
         1.  Eligible children.  A child who is a resident of Iowa and
      is four years of age on or before September 15 of a school year shall
      be eligible to enroll in the preschool program under this chapter.
      If space and funding are available, a school district approved to
      participate in the preschool program may enroll a younger or older
      child in the preschool program; however, the child shall not be
      counted for state funding purposes.
         2.  Teacher requirements.
         a.  An individual serving as a teacher in the preschool
      program must meet all of the following qualifications:
         (1)  The individual is either employed by or under contract with
      the school district implementing the program.
         (2)  The individual is appropriately licensed under chapter 272
      and meets requirements under chapter 284.
         (3)  The individual possesses a bachelor's or graduate degree from
      an accredited college or university with a major in early childhood
      education or other appropriate major identified in rule by the
      department.
         b.  A teacher in the preschool program shall collaborate with
      other agencies, organizations, and boards in the community to further
      the program's capacity to meet the diverse needs of the children
      taught by the teacher and the families of the children, such as needs
      for early care, health, and human services.  In addition, a teacher
      in the preschool program shall work to maintain relationships with
      each child's family in order to enhance the child's development in
      all settings by collaborating with providers of parent education and
      family support opportunities.
         3.  Program requirements.  The state board shall adopt rules
      to further define the following preschool program requirements which
      shall be used to determine whether or not a local program implemented
      by a school district approved to implement the preschool program
      qualifies as an approved local program:
         a.  Maximum and minimum teacher-to-child ratios and class
      sizes.
         b.  Applicable state and federal program standards.
         c.  Student learning standards.
         d.  Provisions for the integration of children from other
      state and federally funded preschools.
         e.  Collaboration with participating families, early care
      providers, and community partners including but not limited to
      community empowerment area boards, head start programs, shared
      visions and other programs provided under the auspices of the child
      development coordinating council, licensed child care centers,
      registered child development homes, area education agencies, child
      care resource and referral services provided under section 237A.26,
      early childhood special education programs, services funded by Title
      I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and
      family support programs.
         f.  A minimum of ten hours per week of instruction delivered
      on the skills and knowledge included in the student learning
      standards developed for the preschool program.
         g.  Parental involvement in the local program.
         h.  Provision for ensuring that children receiving care from
      other child care arrangements can participate in the preschool
      program with minimal disruption due to transportation and movement
      from one site to another.
         4.  School district requirements.  The state board shall adopt
      rules to further define the following requirements of school
      districts implementing the preschool program:
         a.  Methods of demonstrating community readiness to implement
      high-quality instruction in a local program shall be identified.  The
      potential provider shall submit a collaborative program proposal that
      demonstrates the involvement of multiple community stakeholders
      including but not limited to, and only as applicable, parents, the
      school district, accredited nonpublic schools and faith-based
      representatives, the area education agency, the community empowerment
      area board, representatives of business, head start programs, shared
      visions and other programs provided under the auspices of the child
      development coordinating council, center-based and home-based
      providers of child care services, human services, public health, and
      economic development programs.  The methods may include but are not
      limited to a school district providing evidence of a public hearing
      on the proposed programming and written documentation of
      collaboration agreements between the school district, existing
      community providers, and other community stakeholders addressing
      operational procedures and other critical measures.
         b.  Subject to implementation of chapter 28E agreements
      between a school district and community-based providers of services
      to four-year-old children, a four-year-old child who is enrolled in a
      child care center or child development home licensed or registered
      under chapter 237A, or in an existing public or private preschool
      program, shall be eligible for services provided by the school
      district's local preschool program.
         c.  A school district shall participate in data collection and
      performance measurement processes and reporting as defined by rule.
         d.  Professional development for school district preschool
      teachers shall be addressed in the school district's professional
      development plan implemented in accordance with section 284.6.
         5.  Department requirements.
         a.  The department shall implement an application and
      selection process for school district participation in the preschool
      program that includes but is not limited to the enrollment
      requirements provided under section 256C.4.
         b.  The department shall track the progress of students served
      by a school district preschool program and the students' performance
      in elementary and secondary education.
         c.  The department shall implement procedures to monitor the
      quality of the programming provided under the preschool program.
         d.  The state board, in collaboration with the department,
      shall ensure that the administrative rules adopted to support the
      preschool program emphasize that children's access to the program is
      voluntary, that the preschool foundation aid provided to a school
      district is provided based upon the enrollment of eligible students
      in the school district's local program regardless of whether an
      eligible student is a resident of the school district, and that
      agreements entered into by a school district for the provision of
      programming in settings other than the school district's facilities
      are between the school district and the private provider.  
         Section History: Recent Form
         2007 Acts, ch 148, §3; 2007 Acts, ch 215, §100; 2008 Acts, ch
      1032, § 42; 2008 Acts, ch 1181, § 67, 74
         Referred to in § 256C.1 
         Footnotes
         Legislative intent that statewide early childhood professional
      development system be designed to support statewide preschool program
      for four-year-old children; 2008 Acts, ch 1181, § 73