ACHIEVE Family Portal Frequently Asked Questions for Families

ACHIEVE is the home to Early ACCESS and Special Education records for every learner in Iowa, supporting the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Once Early ACCESS or Special Education eligibility is determined and parental consent for services is provided, Early ACCESS service providers, educators, administrators, and AEA team members gain real-time access to learner information. This leads to the development of customized outcomes and strategies to support success. Iowa’s youngest learners experience seamless transitions when moving from Early ACCESS to special education services, as the ACHIEVE system provides continuity and consistency across teams. Special education teams are able to work collaboratively to report on progress toward individualized goals to support informed decision making.

As an extension of ACHIEVE, the new ACHIEVE Family Portal is an optional platform for parents, guardians, and eligible learners. It is designed to provide online access to Early ACCESS and special education data on behalf of learners from birth to age 21. The ACHIEVE Family Portal is the first system in the nation to provide families with round-the-clock access to learner information.

Family members who choose to create an account may view, print and physically sign consent forms or provide an electronic signature. Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Program (IEP) records can be reviewed, downloaded, and printed too. When IFSP and IEP teams enter progress monitoring data on outcomes or goals in ACHIEVE, families can access this information in real-time. The portal aims to empower families to be informed and engaged members of IFSP and IEP teams. Additional information can be found in the ACHIEVE Family Portal overview video or on our ACHIEVE Family Portal webpage.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) determines who is authorized to make education decisions on behalf of a child with a disability. Educational decision makers are eligible to create an ACHIEVE Family Portal account.

Educational Decision Makers include:

• Biological or Adoptive Parent
• Relative Acting as IDEA Parent
• Legal Guardian of Minor
• Legal Guardian of Protected Person
• Court Designee
• Power of Attorney
• Surrogate
• Learner
  • Prior to reaching age of majority/date of rights transfer: Special education learners (age 3-21) may be invited to the ACHIEVE Family Portal with view-only access by their parent/legal guardian.
  • Upon reaching the age of majority/date of rights transfer (whichever comes first): Learners will automatically be invited to create an account in the ACHIEVE Family Portal if a valid learner email address is stored in ACHIEVE.
• Note: Foster Parents: Under Iowa law, foster parents are not considered educational decision makers under IDEA and cannot be invited to the ACHIEVE Family Portal. However, foster parents who meet another IDEA definition of parent, such as kinship foster care placement (e.g., Relative Active as Parent (IDEA)) can serve as an educational decision-maker for a learner. Foster parents can also be appointed as surrogate parents, if they otherwise qualify.

IDEA Parents who have:

• Signed a Consent for Early ACCESS Services (for learners under age 3) or a Consent for Special Education & Related Services (for learners age 3-21) and
• Provided a valid email address to your IFSP Service Coordinator/IEP Facilitator will be eligible to receive an email invitation to create an account in the ACHIEVE Family Portal beginning the last week of February 2025.

If you do not receive an email invitation to the ACHIEVE Family Portal after meeting the conditions above, please contact achievesupport@iowa.gov for assistance.

You will receive an email from no-reply@infocss.com inviting you to create an account in the ACHIEVE Family Portal.

Locate the email with the subject: You’re invited to join the ACHIEVE Family Portal. Click the link in your email to begin the ACHIEVE Family Portal registration process. For help, view the Quick Start Guide. 

The ACHIEVE Family Portal is a web-based tool that allows for content to be translated into a preferred language using your internet browser.

All documents housed in the ACHIEVE Family Portal will be stored as PDFs, which can be translated to a preferred language using Google Translate.

Additional information about how to translate webpage or PDF documents can be
found on the ACHIEVE Family Portal webpage. 

All ACHIEVE Family Portal account holders can complete family surveys and view, download, and print unsigned consent forms and IFSP/IEP records. This includes Meeting Notices, Prior Written Notices, progress monitoring data, and more.

There are two types of portal access to choose from:

• The Interactive option allows access to records as described above. In addition, you may sign consent forms electronically and receive emails when new consent forms are available to review and sign.
• The View-Only option allows access to records as described above. However, you will not be able to sign consent forms electronically. In addition, you will not receive emails when new consent forms are available to sign unless you request and sign a Consent to Receive Electronic Communication from your IFSP/IEP team.

To change your access type after your account is created, log into your account. Click on your name in the upper right hand corner and go to “Settings”. Here, you may select the type of access you prefer. Click “Save” when you are finished.

You may contact achievesupport@iowa.gov for assistance. Our team can assist you with adding, confirming, or updating your email address and (re)send your invitation to the ACHIEVE Family Portal.

The ACHIEVE Family Portal has been created to provide an online tool for securely sharing educational records with IDEA Parents and eligible learners. Creating an account allows you to:

• Access, download and print learner records at your convenience
• See accomplishments and real-time progress towards learner outcomes and goals
• Receive meeting notices and view a calendar of upcoming meetings and due dates
• View and sign consent forms
• Complete family engagement surveys

Yes. The ACHIEVE Family Portal has been created to provide an online tool for securely sharing educational records with parents/legal guardians and eligible learners. 

Creating an account is optional. Account access is not intended to replace peer-to-peer communication with your IFSP/IEP team.

IDEA Parents and learners who have reached the age of majority/date of rights transfer have the right to access, inspect, and review educational records upon request. Your IFSP/IEP team is still required to provide parents and age of major students with paper copies of your learner’s records and information at your IFSP/IEP meeting.

• Prior to reaching age of majority/date of rights transfer: Special education-aged learners may be invited to the ACHIEVE Family Portal with view-only access by their parent/legal guardian.
• Upon reaching the age of majority/date of rights transfer (whichever comes first): Learners will automatically be invited to create an account in the ACHIEVE Family Portal if a valid email address is on file.

• For assistance with adding, confirming, or changing your ACHIEVE Family Portal email address, you may contact achievesupport@iowa.gov for assistance.
• For assistance with logging into the ACHIEVE Family Portal for the first time, please refer to the Quick Start Guide.
• For assistance with learning about the components of the ACHIEVE Family Portal, please refer to the User Guide.
• For additional assistance using the ACHIEVE Family Portal, please refer to the Resources section of the ACHIEVE Family Portal webpage.