YOUR SCREEN RIGHT NOW. A STATE RUN DEPARTMENT DEDICATED TO HELPING BLIND IOWANS SAYS IT FEELS RETALIATED AGAINST AFTER RAISING CONCERNS OVER THE ACCESS PRISON INMATES HAD TO SCHOOL RECORDS. EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE IOWA DEPARTMENT FOR THE BLIND WENT PUBLIC WITH CONCERNS THAT INMATES HAD ACCESS TO NAMES, BIRTH DATES AND ADDRESSES WHILE IN A PRISON PROGRAM TO CREATE MATERIALS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS. THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE BLIND SAYS MONTHS LATER, THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ENDED A 40 YEAR LONG AGREEMENT THAT ALLOWED SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ORDER BRAILLE AND LARGE PRINT EDUCATION MATERIAL THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE BLIND. WITHOUT THAT AGREEMENT, DISTRICTS WOULD NEED TO ORDER AND PAY FOR THE MATERIAL THEMSELVES. DEPARTMENT OF THE BLIND SAYS THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT LATER EXTENDED THE AGREEMENT, BUT DIDN’T MAKE AVAILABLE MONEY TO PAY FOR ITS STAFF. THE TIMING IS VERY COINCIDENTAL. IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE’S SUCH A LACK OF CONCERN FOR THE QUALITY OF THE MATERIALS GIVEN TO BLIND KIDS THAT WOULD NEVER BE ACCEPTABLE FOR SIGHTED KIDS. THE I.D. SAYS IT MADE THE DECISION TO END THE AGREEMENT TO GIVE SCHOOL DISTRICTS MORE FLEXIBILITY AND TO GET MATERIALS MORE QUICKLY. IT SAYS IT IS WORKING ON A NEW CONTRACT TO PAY FOR STAFFING. IT IS UNCLEAR HOW MANY STUDENTS COULD BE IMPACT. IDC SAYS 39 DISTRICTS UTILIZE THE PROGRAM. THE DE
‘It feels retaliatory’: State agency feels Education Department ended contract as revenge
Iowa’s Department for the Blind believes Iowa’s Department of Education ended two agreements worth up to $800,000 as retaliation for vocalizing its grievances over prisoners’ ability to access student data while creating school materials for vision-impaired students, KCRG reports.A registered sex offender, released on parole in 2021, had access to the data, according to documents presented to Iowa’s Commission for the Blind. The Department for the Blind said the Department of Education knew about the issue for more than two years, according to emails KCRG reported in February.The Iowa Department for the Blind said it has had an agreement since around 1980 to create braille and large print educational material for students that utilized federal funding. The agreement, according to the department, allows school districts to order materials for students through the department.Emily Wharton, who is the director of Iowa’s Department for the Blind, said the Department of Education notified her department that it would end the agreement, 10 days before it was set to expire. She said the change will force individual districts to choose any vendor and pay for the materials themselves starting in October, which she believed was retaliation for her continuing to discuss prisoners having access to student’s data.”It feels retaliatory,” Wharton said. “Yeah, I personally think it was retaliatory.”Heather Doe, who is a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Education, said, in a written statement, it made the decision to give schools flexibility to choose their own vendor rather than limit districts to two vendors. She also said it will allow districts to receive educational materials quicker.“This change should expedite the procurement process, helping to ensure districts receive their educational materials quicker,” Doe said, in the statement.A Zoom meeting from the Iowa Department of Education announcing the change didn’t discuss those specific reasons. Instead, a slideshow said the change was made to create consistency between how accessible educational materials, like closed captioning, are provided and districts are more knowledgeable on the funding sources used for individual students.
Iowa’s Department for the Blind believes…
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