Tax credit scholarship (TCS) programs offer state tax credits to individuals or businesses that donate to scholarship funds for students to attend private elementary and secondary schools. Through these credits, donors may reduce the amount they owe in state taxes by the full or a partial amount of their donation, depending on each program's…

Grant aid -- whether based on financial need, merit, or a combination therein -- is the primary form of financial aid awarded by states. States use grant aid to encourage academic preparation, enhance access to postsecondary education, affect students' choice of college, support persistence, and reduce out-of-state migration. State grant aid…

The report describes a regionalized system of community based child health centers developed in Iowa to provide coordinated secondary level health services for children with chronic illness and handicapping conditions. The system is based on two principles: (1) Communities will be given the responsibility for determining which health services are…

The monograph describes the first 5 years' operation of the Iowa Infant Follow-up Program which stresses the early detection and treatment of children at risk for developing disabling conditions. The program has six components: (1) implementing a statewide process for identifying and tracking infants and children at risk for later developmental…

"Moving the Needle on Poverty" is designed to provide Colorado leaders with an up-to-date picture of the diverse strategies that states across the nation are pursuing to lift individuals, families, and communities out of poverty. As the report indicates, many states are choosing to set specific and measurable goals for poverty reduction,…

The report presents information on current practices and issues in training direct care staff working in facilities serving developmentally disabled persons in Iowa and seven other states. The first section provides background information including purposes of the report and methods used to collect information. Section II is organized by four…

Operating under a grant, the University for Man (UFM) in Manhattan, Kansas, tested the transferability of the UFM free university/community education model using four existing statewide delivery systems (public libraries, a private college consortium, a state cooperative extension service, an office of rural affairs) in five states: Kentucky,…

The report and an accompanying executive summary of a statewide needs assessment on young handicapped children in Iowa examine services available, effectiveness of services, and needed changes. The introduction provides an overview of State Planning Grants, Iowa's history of early childhood special education, and this project's approach to…

State mandates for teacher professional development and continuing education, and funding for those mandates are a high profile topic in the North Central region. Examination of specific state requirements for professional development, the relationship among professional development, teacher certification, and continued employment, and direct…

This study analyzed changes in attitude or behavior of Iowa industrial technology teachers concerning hearing conservation in their classes, between 1985 when a hearing conservation program was implemented and several years later. Results showed that small inroads have been made but the majority of teachers were still not using hearing…

In 1986 the General Assembly of the state of Iowa decided that it was important to develop statewide plans for educational telecommunications systems use among universities, community colleges, and secondary schools. The Iowa plan was developed by: (1) defining the basics of the telecommunications systems under consideration; (2) determining…

In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment (TSA); for the first time in the NAEP's history, voluntary state-by-state assessments (37 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) were made. The sample was designed to represent the 8th grade public school population in a state…

The current status and future directions of the field of mental disabilities in Iowa are discussed in the following papers, among others: "Regular Education Initiative and Its Impact on Mental Disabilities" (Carol Bradley); "Mild Mental Retardation Across the Lifespan: Current and Future Considerations" (James Patton);…