The director of the Iowa Department of Education says his agency will start developing guidelines for computer science, at all grade levels. Ryan Wise will convene a “working group” at the end of this month to tackle issues like how best to teach computer skills to kids in the early elementary grades.

The new law creates a professional development incentive fund for teachers who want to gain new computer skills, but there’s no money in the fund.
Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s committed to providing the money next year so Iowa teachers can get professional training in how to teach computer use in their schools.

Reynolds says a recent survey found 69 percent of Iowa’s middle schools and high schools offered a computer science course. Just 38 percent of elementary schools had computer science classes.