Provide program quality assurance through mandatory minimum standards and approval of local program. Require planning and approval as part of the existing Comprehensive School Improvement Plan. Implementation Iowa is the first state in the nation to address teacher shortages and lagging teacher compensation using a statewide strategy. What Iowa is proposing to do on a statewide basis has begun in a few school districts throughout the country that recognize the pending crisis. This proposal suggests fundamental systemic changes to how Iowa pays and supports teachers.
Implementation means training, redesign, negotiation, approval, and delivery.
A great deal of work will need to be done on the state, AEA, and local district level. Local school districts are at different levels of readiness to begin this process. Approximately one half of Iowa school districts should be able to begin this comprehensive transition in the next fiscal year, FY02. All Iowa school districts should be ready to begin this redesign by FY03. For all these reasons, we recommend a staggered implementation for statewide implementation of teacher quality initiatives within this initiative.