The Washington Community School District is receiving a grant from the Iowa Department of Education for efforts to teach computer science.

Governor Kim Reynolds and the education department announced Tuesday $506,084 in awards that will prepare K-12 teachers in 136 school districts and nonpublic schools to teach computer science. Of these Computer Science Professional Development Incentive Fund awards Washington is receiving $6,572. In 2017, Senate File 274 established the fund to pay for teacher professional development, including training to teach specific computer science courses and earning in-depth university endorsements to teach computer science. In 2020, the state legislature passed a bill requiring K-12 schools to offer computer science education to all students, starting with high schools in the 2022-2023 school year.