As a taxpayer, parent, and educator in the great Commonwealth of Virginia, I am compelled to remind my fellow citizens how successful the Virginia Department of Education has been in preparing Virginia’s youth for future challenges.  For this reason, I am extremely alarmed to learn of proposed revisions being considered for regulations governing gifted programs.  With the great degree of success experienced by Virginia’s students national and global arenas, I am shocked at the lack of forethought these proposed revisions contain.  In order to safeguard the education of our most talented youth, it is critical that the Department of Education retain the following regulations governing gifted programs:

1) Local school divisions must continue to develop plans on a 5-year basis in order to have the opportunity to develop long-term goals, implement changes, and evaluate their success before updating the plan for another cycle.  Having plans developed on an annual basis does not allow time for this process in a manner that permits meaningful input from taxpayers, parents, and educators.  It is not sound educational practice.

2) Plans must continue to be submitted to the Department of Education for approval to ensure compliance to minimum requirements of identification and programming across the Commonwealth. The present system of peer review is not only an accountability measure, but a teaching and learning process for school division coordinators of gifted education. The standards set forth by the Vir ginia Department of Education have been the bedrock of our success in education in the Commonwealth. Removal of the review process will create discrepancies in gifted program services across the Commonwealth. Educators will lose a valuable learning process. Taxpayers will no longer be able to check with the Department to see if their local school division's plan for education of gifted students officially complies with the state regulations. 

3) Please reinstate the gifted funding section of the regulations governing gifted education which requires that funding administered by the DOE for the education of gifted students be used only to support those activities identified in the school division's plan as approved by the Board of Education (BOE).  This is necessary to ensure that standards and best practices for educating our most intellectually talented students can continue to be maintained, and that taxpayers’ money will not be frittered away on frivolous or unnecessary distractions that don’t enhance the preparation of our youth to meet future challenges. 

Any changes to the regulations governing gifted programs that do not include these safeguards will compromise a fiscally responsible program that is proven successful in placing Virginia at the forefront of education in our country.  Why current suggestions are being put forth to undermine this success is completely mystifying.  Please prevent damaging proposals from going forward.