Please do not vote to accept the proposed revisions to the regulations governing gifted education in Virginia.

I am writing as a past chair of the Newport News TAG Advisory Board and as the parent of an adult daughter who benefited greatly from the TAG program in Newport News.  I am also a former "gifted child" myself, a graduate of one of the early gifted education programs in the country. I have seen and experienced first hand the difference that gifted education can make in students' lives.  It is imperative that we not only keep our gifted programs in place, but continue to strengthen them through appropriate funding, long-range planning and periodic review by those who understand the special needs of gifted children.

Although implementing the proposed revisions will not eliminate the gifted programs currently in place in Virginia, it will certainly begin a descent down a slippery slope in that direction.  Placing the sole evaluation of gifted programs in the hands of local school boards and blurring the interpretation of funding for those programs will allow people who often do not understand the needs of gifted learners, and who often have other priorities for using available funds, to make the final decisions about the nature and strength of local gifted plans.

The Virginia Association for the Gifted (VAG) has suggested modifications to the proposed revisions that would allow some updated language while still protecting our gifted programs.

Please vote against the proposed revisions and consider modifying them to those recommended by the VAG in order to keep our gifted education programs strong in Virginia and ensure that the children they serve will continue to thrive and excel in our schools.