281—16.1(256C) Definitions.
“Applicant” means a school district applying to become an approved local program. Only public school districts in Iowa may apply for state funds under this chapter.
“Approved local program” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 256C.1.
“Assessment” means a systematic ongoing procedure for obtaining information from observations, interviews, portfolios, and tests that can be used to make judgments about the strengths and needs of individual children and plan appropriate instruction.
“Comprehensive services” means the provision of quality, developmentally appropriate early learning experiences consistent with age-relevant abilities or milestones; extended day child care services; developmental screenings, including health, hearing, and vision screenings; transportation; and family education and support services.
“Curriculum” means a research-based or evidence-based written framework that is comprehensive, addresses the needs of the whole child, and provides a guide for decision making about content, instructional methods, and assessment.
“Department” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 256C.1.
“Developmentally appropriate” means practices that are based upon knowledge of how children develop and learn and that are responsive to the individual child’s learning strengths, interests, and needs.
“Director” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 256C.1.
“Eligible child” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 256C.3(1).
“Family education and support” means any developmentally appropriate activity or information, provided either formally or informally to parents, that supports the success of children and their families to reach desired results.
“Paraeducator” means a certified educational assistant as defined in Iowa Code section 272.1(7) and licensed under 282—Chapter 24.
“Prekindergarten program” means an education program offered by a school district or by an accredited nonpublic school as defined in 281—Chapter 12.
“Preschool budget enrollment” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 256C.5.
“Preschool foundation aid” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 256C.5.
“Preschool program” means the statewide voluntary preschool program for four-year-old children created in Iowa Code chapter 256C.
“Program standards” means the expectations for the characteristics or quality of early childhood settings, centers, and schools approved by the department, on or before January 31, 2024. Approved program standards include National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria, Head Start Program Performance Standards, the Iowa Quality Preschool Program Standards (QPPS) and Criteria, or other approved program standards as determined by the department.
“School district” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 257.2.
“Staff member” means an individual who implements preschool activities under the direct supervision of a teacher. Staff members include paraeducators, teacher aides and teacher associates. All staff members are to meet the program standards defined herein.
“Teacher” means an individual who holds a valid practitioner’s license issued by the board of educational examiners under Iowa Code chapter 272 and holds an endorsement from the board of educational examiners that includes prekindergarten or kindergarten. There is no obligation that the teacher be an employee of the applicant district; the teacher may be employed by a private provider or other public agency with which the district has entered into an agreement or contract under Iowa Code chapter 28E.
[ARC 7421C, IAB 12/27/23, effective 1/31/24]