IOWA, USA — Somewhere in Iowa, inside an art classroom, will be the birth of the next design of Iowa's specialized education license plate.
A video released by the Department of Education on September 6 officially kicked off the contest:
The contest, according to the Department of Education, can be used as an early-finisher project or as standards-aligned classwork, making it easier to accommodate students.
On top of what is in place for the contest, the department is also looking for art teachers to volunteer as contest judges to help review submissions from across the state.
The Department of Education's website includes full contest details for those who wish to learn more. Art teachers across the state of Iowa can submit up to 10 student plate designs for consideration.
The competition will be open for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The timeline for the project is as follows:
- Dec. 1, 2024 - Teachers will collect completed artworks and consent and release forms from students.
- Jan. 1, 2025 - Teachers will select up to 10 artworks and review for any copyrighted images.
- Feb. 1, 2025 - Teachers will submit artworks and consent and release forms to the Department of Education.
- March 1, 2025 - Adjudicators will decide on semi-finalists.
- April 1, 2025 - Public voting will select 3-4 finalists.
- May 1, 2025 - The winning artwork will be chosen. The new license plate design will enter production.
- May 20, 2025 - The winning student artist will be notified.
- June 1, 2025 - Semi-finalist artworks will be displayed at the department.