Parental Notices
Clarke Community Schools
802 N. Jackson Street• OSCEOLA, IOWA 50213-0535
PHONE: 641-342-4969 • FAX: 641-342-6101
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
The Every Student Succeeds Act, signed in 2015, is a federal K-12 education law that replaced the No Child Left Behind Act. The law maintains a focus on equity for all students, while giving states and local school districts much more ownership over systems of school accountability and support.
ESSA requires states to develop comprehensive plans for accountability and support, identify schools for support and improvement (Comprehensive and Targeted), and publish school report cards reflecting performance. Iowa’s system for accountability and support under ESSA was developed with broad public input, fits the state’s context, and focuses on helping schools find solutions that work for them.
Iowa’s new report cards, called the Iowa School Performance Profiles, include each school’s scores on a set of accountability measures, such as state assessments. The reports display results based on a school’s overall performance as well as the performance of subgroups of students, such as children from low-income backgrounds.
Parents/Guardians may request this information from the Office of the Superintendent by calling 641-342-4969 or sending a letter of request to the Office of the Superintendent, 802 N Jackson St, Osceola, IA 50213-0535.
Notice: Corporal Punishment, Restraint, and Physical Confinement and Detention
State law forbids school employees from using corporal punishment against any student. Certain actions by school employees are not considered corporal punishment. Additionally, school employees may use “reasonable and necessary force, not designed or intended to cause pain” to do certain things, such as prevent harm to persons or property.
State law also places limits school employees’ abilities to restrain, confine or detain any student. The law limits why, how, where, and for how long a school employee may restrain, confine or detain a child. If a child is restrained, confined or detained, the school must maintain documentation and must provide certain types of notice to the child’s parent.
If you have any questions about this state law, please contact your school. The complete text of the law and additional information is available on the Iowa Department of Education’s web site: www.iowa.gov/educate.
Homeless Child Policy
Chapter 33 of Iowa Administrative Code defines "Homeless child or youth" as a child or youth from the age of 3 years through 21 years who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes the following:
A child or youth who is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; is living in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; is living in an emergency or transitional shelter; is abandoned in a hospital; or is awaiting foster care placement;
A child or youth who has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
A child or youth who is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, substandard housing, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
A migratory child or youth who qualifies as homeless because the child or youth is living in circumstances described in paragraphs "1" through "3" above.
SF 496
School districts shall publish the following information on the district’s Internet site, each school year:
1) A detailed explanation of the procedures or policies in effect for the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the district to request removal of a book, article, outline, handout, video, or other education material that is available to students in the classroom or in a library operated by the school district.
Please see Clarke Community School District Board Policies 605.1 - 605.3R1
2) A detailed explanation of the procedures or policies in effect to request the review of decisions made by the school board, including the petition process established pursuant to Iowa Code §279.8B.
Please see Clarke Community School District Board Policies 605.1 - 605.3R1
3) The board shall adopt a policy describing the process for the parent or guardian of a student or a resident of the district to review the instructional materials used in classrooms n the district. The policy SHALL include a process for a student’s parent or guardian to request that the student not be provided with certain instruction materials. • “Instructional materials” is defined and DOES NOT include lesson plans.
Please see Clarke Community School District Board Policies 605.1 - 605.3R1
4) A comprehensive list of all books available to students in libraries operated by the school district. However, for school years prior to July 1, 2025, if the district is not using an electronic catalog, it may request a waiver from this requirement from the DE.