Preschool Program Requirements for Early Childhood Special Education

Iowa law requires accredited school districts and nonpublic schools operating preschools and child care programs to either meet Iowa Department of Education (DE) Program Standards or obtain Department of Human Services (DHS) licensure [Iowa Code § 279.49, 280.3A].

The DE has defined the Preschool Program Standards as the following:
1.) Iowa Quality Preschool Program Standards (QPPS);
2.) Head Start Program Performance Standards; or
3.) National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Accreditation.

The Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) and Early Childhood (EC) programs serving children on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) must meet the DE Preschool Program Standards requirement. Therefore, beginning in 2008–2009, ECSE and EC programs serving children on an IEP are expected to select and implement one of the above mentioned three required Preschool Program Standards.

District administrators with ECSE and EC programs serving children on an IEP that implement QPPS may want to consider the following:

• Contacting area education agencies (AEA) early childhood leadership for information about early childhood professional development;

• Becoming familiar with the QPPS standards and criteria;

• Completing the QPPS self-assessment with support from the AEA ECSE/EC staff; and

• Developing a QPPS quality improvement plan.

Information about the Iowa QPPS is available on the Iowa Department of Education website at http://www.iowa.gov/educate/content/view/681/805/. For additional information regarding implications for Early Childhood Special Education programs, contact Dee Gethmann at 515-281-5502 or dee.gethmann@iowa.gov, or Jerry Gruba at 515-270-9030 or jgruba@aea11.k12.ia.us.