Family & Educator Partnership Newsletter
from Great Prairie Area Education Agency
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Learn more and access resources at
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Overview of the Change
The Iowa State Board of Education has amended Iowa’s special education rules related to the graduation of individuals eligible for special education and the definition of a regular high school diploma. The state has made these changes to be consistent with the required language in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The change means it will no longer be permissible to award a regular high school diploma based solely on IEP goal attainment. The term “regular high school diploma” must be fully aligned to State-required standards. Your local school district may have additional graduation requirements that go beyond the minimum State requirements. In Iowa, the minimum graduation requirements are:
- four years of English
- three years of math
- three years of social studies
- three years of science
- and completion of the local school district’s expectations for physical education (PE)
Often referred to as 4-3-3-3 or ‘
four triple three’
To earn a regular high school diploma going forward, all students, including students with disabilities, must meet their local school district’s graduation requirements, which at a minimum, must include 4-3-3-3 and the completion of district PE requirements, in addition to any services required to receive a FAPE (i.e., goal completion).
When Does This Change Go into Effect
The application of these graduation requirements begins in 2018 with the 9th grade cohort (Class of 2022).
How Might This Impact Students with Disabilities
- It is the expectation that the majority of special education students will be able to meet the 4-3-3-3 requirements. It is the IEP team’s responsibility, beginning in 8th grade to develop a pathway to 4-3-3-3 that meets your student’s unique needs and results in a regular high school diploma.
- Your local school district will need to consider the continuum of services they provide for students and develop processes that ensure alignment of the continuum to the 4-3-3-3 and their graduation policies.
- With careful consideration of each student’s capabilities, strengths, and interests, the IEP team will determine if accommodations and/or modifications are needed to meet graduation requirements.
- The IEP team will want to ensure that the plan created has high expectations for learning that align with your student’s post-secondary expectations.
- Progress toward completion of 4-3-3-3 should be communicated at least annually in the course of study section of your student’s IEP. The IEP team can choose to establish more frequent reporting to ensure timely completion of requirements and revision or provision of new supports. Your student’s IEP team will need to design processes to measure progress toward meeting 4-3-3-3, and communicate that progress with you and your student.
IEP Team Includes the Following:
- The student
- Parents
- At least one general education teacher and one special education teacher of the student
- A local education agency representative who Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities; Is knowledgeable about the Iowa Core Curriculum; and Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency
- An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results
- At the discretion of the parent or the agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student, including related services personnel as appropriate
- Outside agency representatives for transition planning as needed
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Easterseals Iowa Camp Sunnyside Summer Resident Camp has an exciting opportunity to offer, a three-day AAC Challenge Camp during the C7 Challenge Camp Week (July 21, 2019- July 26, 2019)! Campers who are interested in the AAC CHALLENGE CAMP can choose to attend for the entire week of Challenge Camp with other resident campers, with a
cost of $600, or attend the three-day AAC portion only (Sunday through
Tuesday),
at a cost of $300.
AAC CHALLENGE CAMP, July 21, 2019 – July 23, 2019, will be a three-day opportunity for campers age 12 to 17, who utilize an Augmentative and/or Alternative Communication device to support their communication. During these three days, coaches will guide the camper’s specific goals and needs. The coaches will be college students majoring in Speech-Language Pathology and will guide expressive language and critical thinking skills in an exciting camp environment!
Campers will spend their days having fun swimming, horseback riding, doing arts and crafts and much, much more. Challenge Camp (Week C7) will offer a variety of opportunities that will challenge and reward campers for their efforts!
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Once you have submitted this application, notify the Easterseals Iowa Assistive Technology Team that you will be joining us for camp by emailing
atinfo@eastersealsia.org, calling 866866-8782, or calling TTY at 515-289-4069. The AT team will contact you to gain some additional information about the camper’s AAC device so that they are ready to go for camp!
This opportunity is made possible through a collaborative effort with Easterseals Iowa, The University of Iowa Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Northern Iowa Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Iowa Area Educational Agencies.
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Iowa Deafblind Project Summer Symposium 2019
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When
: June 6-7
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, 2019 – Pre-symposium workshop will be offered on June 5
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Where
: Coralville, IA
What
: The Summer Symposium includes information on Cortical Vision Impairment & AAC, Central Auditory Processing Disorder, and Functional Hearing Evaluation Presenters will include:
- Dr. Jeanane Ferre – Central Auditory Evaluation and Treatment
- Christopher Russell – New York Deafblind Project
- Adam Graves–Texas Deafblind Project/TX School for the Blind & Visually Impaired Outreach Dept.
Registration fee
: $50 for professionals and parents Registration fee waived for parents of children on Iowa’s Deafblind Registry.
Pre-symposium session:
This session will take place from 1:00-4:30 pm on Wednesday, June 5
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Topic
: Basics of Deafblindness: Foundational information for educators
Financial support:
Limited stipends will be offered to professionals working with students on Iowa’s Deafblind Registry and to parents of children with deafblindness (one stipend per family).
Licensure Renewal Credit
: Credit will be applied for through Grant Wood AEA. Graduate credit will not be available. Information about renewal credit opportunities will be available when registration opens.
Questions: Susan Brennan 319-560-4014 susan.brennan@iaedb.org
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Child Find is the process used to determine if a child needs special education services and supports.
In this booklet you will find answers to the following questions:
- What is Child Find?
- How Does Child Find Get Started?
- What Comes Next?
- What is Suspicion of a Disability?
- When is a Student Suspected of Having a Disability?
- What Happens Next if a Disability is Suspected?
- What Happens Next if a Disability is NOT Suspected?
- How Does the Full Individual Evaluation (FIE) Work?
- What Happens at an Eligibility Meeting?
- What if My Child is Eligible?
- What if My Child is Not Eligible?
As parents we make better decisions for our kids when we're provided with information that empowers and informs us. Together we can provide the best plan for the child's academic success. This is a great resource to engage parents & educators and build crucial relationships.
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Great Prairie AEA | 800-622-0027 | www.gpaea.org
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STAY CONNECTED WITH GPAEA
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Great Prairie Area Education Agency works as an educational partner with public and accredited, nonpublic schools to help students, school staff, parents and communities. Great Prairie AEA provides professional development and leadership to promote school improvement, a variety of instructional services, special education support services, and technology and media services. It is the policy of the Great Prairie Education Agency not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy please contact Greg Manske, 3601 West Avenue, Burlington, IA 52601, (319) 753-6561 x1217, greg.manske@gpaea.org (employment practices) or Deb Cook, 2814 N. Court Street, Ottumwa, IA 52501, (641) 682-8591 x5324, deb.cook@gpaea.org (educational programs).
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