Purpose 

This policy outlines the responsibility, provisions, and standards for professional and volunteer staff under WIOA Title II.  

Content 

Providers who receive funding for Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) services (WIOA Title II) are responsible for providing “High Quality Professional Development” (PD) opportunities for Professional and Volunteer staff. High Quality Professional Development is to include formal and informal means of assisting professional and volunteer staff to: (a) acquire knowledge, skills, approaches, and dispositions; (b) explore new or advanced understandings of content, theory, and resources; and (c) develop new insights into theory and its application to improve the effectiveness of current practice and lead to professional growth. 

Adult Education and Literacy Qualifications of Staff: 

• Professional Staff: staff providing instruction in AEL program to students. AEL Professional staff must possess at a minimum a bachelor’s degree. 

• Volunteer Staff: AEL Volunteer staff must possess at minimum a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma. 

Professional Development Provisions: 

• Pre-Service: Professional Staff new to AEL are to receive six clock hours of Preservice Professional Development prior to, but no later than, one month after starting employment with an AEL program. Preservice Professional Development may be applied toward “annual professional development” clock hours. 

• Annual Professional Development: AEL Professional Staff must receive at least 12 clock hours of professional development annually (based on a Program Year). 

* Professional staff that possess a valid (not expired, revoked, etc.,) Teaching License accepted within the state of Iowa are exempt from this requirement. 

*Volunteer staff are required to complete 50 percent of the Professional Development clock hours of AEL Professional Staff. 

High Quality Professional Development Standards: 

All High Quality Professional Development content must meet at least one of the following standards: 

• Strengthens professional and volunteer staff knowledge and application of content areas, instructional strategies, and assessment strategies based on research; 

• Prepares and supports professional and volunteer staff in creating supportive environments that help adult learners reach realistic goals; 

• Uses data to drive professional development priorities, analyze effectiveness, and help sustain continuous improvement for adult education and literacy programs and learners; 

• Uses a variety of strategies to guide adult education and literacy program improvement and initiatives; 

• Enhances abilities of professional and volunteer staff to evaluate and apply current research, theory, evidence-based practices, and professional wisdom; 

• Models or incorporates theories of adult learning and development;  

• Fosters adult education and literacy program, community, and state-level collaboration. 

While High Quality Professional Development of AEL staff does not need to explicitly be labeled as “Adult Education and Literacy” or “AEL”, the context does need to align with the High Quality Professional Development standards.  

Action   

No action needed at this time. 

The content of this policy may be subject to routine monitoring.