646602 - IDEA-DA Continuous Improvement Grant
Funding Opportunity Details

ESEA Competitive Grants

Final Application Deadline: Jan 16, 2026 11:59 PM

Description

• IDEA-DA Continuous Improvement Grant

  Implementing and Sustaining Evidence Based Practices

  Competitive Grant Opportunity Total Amount of Funds Available: Approximately $1,000,000.

   

  Purpose:

  The purpose of this competitive grant is to strengthen internal coherence and sustainability between IDEA-DA and ISPP supports in order to enhance district leadership capacity, infrastructure, coaching systems, and school improvement efforts. Through this alignment, the grant aims to accelerate progress in narrowing the achievement gap for students with disabilities by ensuring that evidence-based practices are implemented with fidelity, resources are strategically leveraged and supports are embedded into long-term district systems. This initiative seeks to build sustainable structures that improve outcomes, increase equity across buildings and districts and ensure that students with disabilities receive high-quality instruction and inclusive opportunities across all educational settings.

   

  Requirements:

  All grant-funded activities must be explicitly linked to performance data and show how the work will address identified gaps in outcomes for students with IEPs. District action plans should include a detailed plan for aligning IDEA-DA and ISPP resources to build sustainable systems such as leadership teams, data systems, coaching structures, and professional learning infrastructure. Proposed activities must focus on the use of evidence-based instructional, behavioral, and organizational practices that have demonstrated effectiveness in narrowing achievement gaps for students with disabilities. Grant applicants should consider how the proposed work will create lasting, systemic change by aligning improvement efforts with district-level priorities and needs identified in the special education data analysis process.

   

  Eligibility:

  Any district with a district level designation with a needs improvement or priority rating based on the Iowa School Performance Profile and Level two or Level three IDEA-DA designation.

  Eligible districts with district level designation with a needs improvement or priority rating based on the Iowa School Performance Profile and level two or three IDEA-DA designation must develop a district level action plan with a brief description that addresses each of the following:

  1. Applicants must conduct a comprehensive review of district-level performance data, including disaggregated subgroup data for students with IEPs, to identify specific areas of need related to academic achievement, IEP implementation, and instructional access. This review should include ISPP profile review, IDEA-DA Implementation Support Rubric analysis, and data review results (DRP results are applicable).

  2. Applicants must include a plan to establish or expand coaching systems that support inclusive practices, improve instructional quality, and increase IEP fidelity across all relevant settings.

  3. Applicants must demonstrate commitment to ongoing review of student performance data, implementation fidelity metrics, and continuous improvement cycles to ensure that the proposed activities result in measurable gains for students with disabilities.

  4. Applicants must submit projected cost for supporting implementation and building sustainability, including a budget table that outlines how the funds will be used for creating opportunities for staff to be available for professional learning and coaching, intensive training for leaders to support implementation fidelity, high quality instructional materials and training, infrastructure, and/or leadership to carry out the evidence based practices to align district and building action plans, build capacity at the leadership level, and sustain system support.

   

  Allocations:

  Awards (See the Scoring Rubric) Application available on IowaGrants.gov

  Districts may apply for awards according to the sum from the table below.

  District Designations	District Application Maximum
  Priority or Needs Improvement District Designation IDEA-DA Level 3	$50,000
  Priority or Needs Improvement District Designation IDEA-DA Level 2	$40,000 (multiple schools) $20,000 (single school)

   

  Contact Information:

  Amy Thoms-Starr

  515-205-2627

  amy.starr@iowa.gov

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