CHAPTER 67
EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAMS FOR PARENTS
OF AT-RISK CHILDREN AGED BIRTH THROUGH FIVE YEARS
281—67.1(279) Purpose. These rules set forth procedures and conditions under which state funds shall be granted to school districts, area education agencies or other agencies which administer quality educational support services to parents of at-risk children aged birth through five years.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
281—67.2(279) Definitions.
“Applicant” means a public school district, area education agency or an agency which applies for the funds to provide quality educational support programs to parents of at-risk children aged birth through five years, with an emphasis on parents of children aged birth through three years.
“At-risk children” means children birth through age five who are at risk because of physical or environmental influence.
“Council” means the child development coordinating council.
“Department” means the department of education.
“Early intervention interagency council” means the community early intervention interagency councils for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families formed to assist with the implementation of P.L. 99-457, Part H, which amends P.L. 94-142, Education of the Handicapped Act.
“Educational support services” means individual or group opportunities providing information to parents which focuses on: parenting skills, child growth and development, building of self-concept, nutrition, positive guidance techniques, family resource management, parent literacy, and how to access the array of supportive services from a network of agencies that are available to families with young children who are at risk.
“Grantee” means the applicant designated to receive the grants for educational support services to parents of at-risk children aged birth through five years.
“Parent” means biological, adoptive, surrogate, foster parent, or guardian.
“Quality educational support services” means educational support services that have a qualified or trained staff to provide a program which meets the needs of parents through the use of a validated curriculum or which is based on a model project which has proven successful in another state or location.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
281—67.3(279) Eligibility identification procedures. In a year in which funds are made available by the Iowa legislature, the department shall grant awards to applicants for the provision of educational support services to parents of at-risk children aged birth through five years with priority to applicants that serve parents of at-risk children aged birth through three years. Funds shall be made available on a competitive basis to schools or nonprofit agencies demonstrating an ability to provide quality educational support services to parents of at-risk children aged birth through five years. Competitive grants will be awarded with a renewal option for up to five years contingent upon the awardee’s meeting program requirements. If program requirements are not met, the department may discontinue grant funding at the start of the following fiscal year.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
281—67.4(279) Eligibility. The available funds shall be directed to serve parents of at-risk children aged birth through five years in the primary eligibility category as follows:
Parents having one or more children aged birth through five years who meet the current income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced price meals in a local school or whose total income is, or is projected to be, equal to or less than 125 percent of the federally established poverty guidelines.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
281—67.5(279) Secondary eligibility. The available funds shall be directed to serve parents of at-risk children aged birth through five years when children qualify in one or more of the secondary eligibility categories as follows:
	1.	Children who are abused.
	2.	Children functioning below chronological age in two or more developmental areas, one of which may be English proficiency, as determined by an appropriate professional.
	3.	Children born with an established biological risk factor, such as very low birth weight (under 1500 grams—approximately three pounds) or with conditions such as spina bifida, Down’s syndrome or other genetic disorders.
	4.	Children born to a parent who was under the age of 18.
	5.	Children residing in a household where one or more of the parents or guardian:
	●	Has not completed high school;
	●	Has been identified as a substance abuser;
	●	Has been identified as chronically mentally ill;
	●	Is incarcerated;
	●	Is illiterate;
	●	Is a child abuser or spouse abuser; or
	●	Is an English learner.
	6.	Children having other special circumstances, such as foster care or being homeless.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14; ARC 6724C, IAB 12/14/22, effective 1/18/23]
281—67.6(279) Grant awards criteria.
	67.6(1) Criteria points. The following information shall be provided and points shall be awarded to applicants based on the following criteria as stated in the request for proposal:
	1.	Identification of parents of at-risk children.
	2.	Positive family focus.
	3.	Educational support programs to provide family services.
	4.	Community and interagency coordination.
	5.	Overall program evaluation.
	6.	Letters of community support.
	7.	Program budget (administrative) costs not to exceed 10 percent of total award.
	67.6(2) Additional grant components. The following information shall be provided and points shall be awarded to applicants based on the following additional components.
	1.	Documentation of a need for this project.
	2.	Justification of how this project will utilize services from other agencies and how this project will supplement services to the eligible population.
	3.	Identification of the curriculum to be used or the model to be replicated.
	4.	Demonstration that persons qualified to administer these educational support services to parents will be employed.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
281—67.7(279) Application process. The department shall announce through public notice the opening of an application period.
281—67.8(279) Request for proposals. Applications for the educational support services to parents of at-risk children aged birth through five years grants shall be distributed by the department upon request.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
281—67.9(279) Award contracts.
	67.9(1) Grants for educational support services to parents of at-risk children aged birth through five years shall not supplant other existing funding sources.
	67.9(2) Administrative costs shall be limited to 10 percent of the total award.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
281—67.10(279) Notification of applicants. Applicants shall be notified of the department’s decision to approve or disapprove the proposal within 45 days of the deadline for applications. Negotiations may be required. Successful applicants will be requested to have an official with vested authority sign a contract with the department.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
281—67.11(279) Grantee responsibilities. The grantee shall maintain records which include, but are not limited to:
	1.	Demographic information on parents and children served.
	2.	Qualifying criteria for those parents receiving educational support services.
	3.	Documentation of the number of contact hours in either individual or group sessions with parents.
	4.	Documentation of the type of educational support service provided to parents.
	5.	Indication of where the services were provided, i.e., home, school or community facility.
	6.	Evaluation of how each project goal and objective was met, on what timeline, and with what success rate.
	7.	Record of expenditures and an annual audit.
	8.	Other information specified by the department necessary to the overall evaluation.
Grantees shall complete a year-end report on forms provided by the department documenting the information outlined in this rule. The final project report is due 30 days after the completion of the project as defined in the contract with the department.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
281—67.12(279) Withdrawal of contract offer. If the applicant and the department are unable to successfully negotiate a contract, the department may withdraw the award offer.
281—67.13(279) Evaluation. The grantee shall cooperate with the department and provide requested information to determine how well the goals and objectives of the project are being met.
281—67.14(279) Contract revisions. The grantee shall immediately inform the department of any revisions in the project budget. The department and the grantee may negotiate a revision to the contract to allow for expansion or modification of services but shall not increase the total amount of the grant. The council may advise the department regarding revised contracts if the revision is in excess of 10 percent of a budget category.
[ARC 1487C, IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
281—67.15(279) Termination for convenience. The contract may be terminated, in whole or in part, upon agreement of both parties. The parties shall agree upon the termination conditions, including the effective date, and in the case of partial termination, the portion to be terminated. The grantee shall not incur new obligations for the terminated portion after the effective date of termination and shall cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible.
281—67.16(279) Termination for cause. The contract may be terminated, in whole or in part, at any time before the date of completion, whenever it is determined by the department that the grantee has failed to comply substantially with the conditions of the contract. The grantee shall be notified in writing by the department of the reasons for the termination and the effective date. The grantee shall not incur new obligations for the terminated portion after the effective date of termination and shall cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible.
The department shall administer the educational support services grants contingent upon their availability. If there is a lack of funds necessary to fulfill the fiscal responsibility of these grants, the contracts shall be terminated or renegotiated. The department may terminate or renegotiate a contract upon 30 days’ notice when there is a reduction of funds by executive order.
281—67.17(279) Responsibility of grantee at termination. Within 45 days of the effective date of termination, the grantee shall supply the department with a financial statement detailing all program expenditures up to the effective date of the termination. The grantee shall be solely responsible for all expenditures after the effective date of termination.
281—67.18(279) Appeal from terminations. Any agency or public school aggrieved by a unilateral termination of a contract pursuant to rule 281—67.16(279) may appeal the decision to the director of the department in writing within 30 days of the decision to terminate. The hearing procedures found at 281—Chapter 6 shall be applicable to appeals of terminated grantees.
In the notice of appeal, the grantee shall give a short and plain statement of the reason for the appeal.
281—67.19(279) Refusal to issue ruling. The director may refuse to issue a ruling or decision upon an appeal for good cause. Good cause includes, but is not limited to, the following reasons:
	1.	The appeal is untimely;
	2.	The appellant lacks standing to appeal;
	3.	The appeal is not in the required form or is based upon frivolous grounds;
	4.	The appeal is moot because the issues raised in the notice of appeal or at the hearing have been settled by the parties;
	5.	The termination of the grant was beyond the control of the department because it was due to lack of funds available for the contract.
281—67.20(279) Request for Reconsideration. A disappointed applicant who has not been approved for funding may file a Request for Reconsideration with the director of the department in writing within 10 days of the decision to decline to award a grant. In order to be considered by the director, the Request for Reconsideration shall be based upon one of the following grounds:
	1.	The decision process was conducted in violation of statute or rule;
	2.	The decision violates state or federal law, policy, or rule (to be cited in the Request);
	3.	The decision process involved a conflict of interest.
Within 20 days of filing a Request for Reconsideration, the requester shall submit all written documentation, evidence, or argument in support of the request. The director shall notify the child development coordinating council of the request and shall provide the council an opportunity to defend its decision with written documentation, evidence, or argument, which shall be submitted within 20 days of receipt of the request. The council shall provide copies of all documents to the requester at the time the items are submitted to the director.
The director shall issue a decision granting or denying the Request for Reconsideration within 30 days of the receipt of the evidence, or no later than 60 days from the date of Request for Reconsideration, unless a later date is agreeable to the requester and the council.
281—67.21(279) Refusal to issue decision on request. The director may refuse to issue a decision on a Request for Reconsideration upon good cause. Good cause includes, but is not limited to, the following reasons:
	1.	The request was untimely;
	2.	The requester lacks standing to seek reconsideration;
	3.	The request is not based on any of the available grounds in rule 281—67.18(279), or is merely frivolous or vexatious;
	4.	The requester failed to provide documentation, evidence or argument in support of its request;
	5.	The request is moot due to negotiation and settlement of the issue(s).
281—67.22(279) Granting a Request for Reconsideration. If the director grants a Request for Reconsideration, the council shall consider the grantee’s application in accordance with the director’s findings and decision.
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code section 279.51.
[Filed emergency 2/16/90—published 3/7/90, effective 2/16/90]
[Filed 4/13/90, Notice 3/7/90—published 5/2/90, effective 6/6/90]
[Filed emergency 3/15/91—published 4/3/91, effective 3/15/91]
[Filed 12/19/91, Notice 10/30/91—published 1/8/92, effective 2/12/92]
[Filed ARC 1487C (Notice ARC 1396C, IAB 4/2/14), IAB 6/11/14, effective 7/16/14]
[Filed ARC 6724C (Notice ARC 6584C, IAB 10/5/22), IAB 12/14/22, effective 1/18/23]