Lecturing on her work, The History of Whiteness, Nell Painter states that “the black poor remain outside the concept of ‘the American’”.  Professor Painter would likely agree that the black poor remain outside the concept of ‘the gifted’.  She lectures further that, “poverty and a dark skin endure as the opposite of whiteness driven by an age old social yearning to characterize the poor as permanently other and inherently inferior”.  The Henrico NAACP says not anymore.  Minority is not alien and poor is not degenerate.  The black, brown, and poor are Us, American, and inherently gifted.  If Virginia’s public schools are to have places for the gifted affluent, there will be places for the gifted minority and the gifted poor, right now and this today.  The mistake of “with all deliberate speed” will not be repeated in providing necessary educational services to gifted minority and low-income students.
In Henrico Public Schools, black students are 36% of the total student enrollment but only 7% of the students identified as gifted.  White students are 48% of the total student enrollment and 80% of the students identified as gifted. 
 
To deconstruct this conception of giftedness which under identifies minority and low-income students in need of gifted education services, the Henrico NAACP advocates that the gifted education regulations be further revised to include: 
 
The Virginia Department of Education (VADOE) and local school divisions must have policies and procedures designed to prevent inappropriate under identification and disproportionate representation by race, ethnicity, and poverty status of children in gifted education and governor’s school programs.
 
Disproportionate representation.
 
-The VADOE must monitor school divisions in the priority areas:  disproportionate representation of racial, ethnic, and low-income students in gifted education, and governor’s school programs to the extent the representation is the result of inappropriate identification.
 
-The VADOE must identify school divisions with disproportionate representation, and of those, the number where the disproportionate representation is the result of inappropriate identification of children by race, ethnicity, and poverty status. 
 
-Identifying inappropriate identification could include a review of policies, procedures, and practices related to identification of gifted minority and low-income children.
 
-If disproportionality is due to inappropriate identification, require the school division to correct the noncompliance, including revising deficient policies, procedures, and practices.
 
-The VADOE must report annually to the Governor and Legislature as follows:  (#due to inappropriate identification)/(all school divisions) and in the following annual report on correction.
 
Significant disproportionality.
 
-The VADOE and school divisions must collect and examine data to determine if significant disproportionality based on race, ethnicity, and poverty status is occurring in the State and school divisions with respect to identification of children for gifted education and governor’s school programs.
 
-In school divisions where significant disproportionality exists, school divisions are required to reserve 15% of gifted funds to address the disparity.
 
-In school divisions where significant disproportionality exists, school divisions will review policies, procedures, and practices related to identification of minority and low-income gifted students.
 
-If policies, procedures, or practices are deficient in school divisions where significant disproportionality exists, the VADOE will require the school division to revise to comply with the requirements.
 
-In school divisions where significant disproportionality exists, the VADOE will require the school division to publicly report on the revisions of policies, procedures, and practices.