As a parent of elementary and middle school gifted-identified students and member of the Newport News local Gifted Services Advisory Board, I strongly believe the following issues should be addressed by any new regulations regarding the administration of gifted services in Virginia.

Planning Time-frame

School division local plans for the gifted should be remain developed on longer-term basis, such as the current five-year plan, in order for school divisions to have the opportunity to develop long-term goals, implement changes, and better evaluate progress in reaching the goals over time. 

Review

The state’s role in the approval process has been key in helping to develop, strengthen, and evaluate local plans.  The loss of the peer review process and state oversight of the local plan will result in a decrease in collaboration across divisions, reduced opportunity for input by gifted education coordinators and concerned parents, and lead to just the kinds of discrepancies in quality of gifted services across the state that the SOLs are attempting to address.

Eligibility

The state should permit school divisions to outline an eligibility process timeline within their five-year local plan, instead of 60 day eligibility review requirement.

Funding

To provide quality programs for gifted students, state funds for the education of gifted students should remain used only to support those activities identified in the school division’s plan for gifted students. Funding has been tight enough without added license divert funds to other programs.