Professional app page template for Operations administrators in Iowa

Today, U.S. News and World Report ranked Iowa the #6 Best State overall, #3 state for Opportunity, #7 state for Long-Term Fiscal Stability, #9 state for Health Care Access, #9 state for Affordability, and #11 state for Education. Iowa is up one spot from the 2023 overall rankings and up two spots in education.

The district career and academic plan (DCAP) is a roadmap for implementation of the career and academic planning process and provides a living context for how each district supports their studentʼs ICAP process. The plan creates the framework for each studentʼs Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP).

Iowaʼs current budget While the state did not approve a significant tax reduction in calendar year 2023, Iowa passed major tax cuts in both 2021 and 2022. Under the American Rescue Plan, Iowa will receive $1.5 billion in direct state fiscal aid and $952 million in local government aid from the federal government.

The state foundation formula is pupil driven. That is, most elements of spending authority as well as funding levels are based on district enrollment or subsets of district enrollment multiplied by a cost per-pupil amount, or enrollment multiplied by a weighting factor applied to either enrollment or cost per-pupil

Weʼre about to invest over $3.8 billion in our public schools, Thompson said. Thatʼs a pretty significant investment. Under a 3% increase, the state would fund Iowa school districts at a rate of $7,864 per pupil in the 2025-2026 school year, an increase from $7,635 for the current school year.

The Iowa Department of Education believes school districts must be adequately prepared for a variety of emergencies that threaten the young lives of Iowa students each day. A high-quality emergency operations plan is required for each school district and individual school buildings (Iowa Code 280.30).

School finance is governed by Iowa Code 257. Student counts and supplementary weighting of students are sent to the Department of Education via Student Reporting in Iowa (SRI). Supplementary weighting rules may be found at Iowa Administrative Code 281-97.

All state residents are entitled to free public education up to age 21 and state law requires that all youngsters between the ages of 6-16 attend school either in their assigned resident district, through open enrollment to another district, or through private instruction (home schooling).