Gifted Education and the Law. PAGE Bulletin.

Overview & Synopsis

This bulletin explores the current status of federal and state, especially Pennsylvania, legislation and recent court decisions pertaining to gifted education. It notes the existence, at the federal level, of only one law related to gifted education, the Jacob Javits Act of 1988 which, however, does not mandate the creation of special programs and fails to provide due process rights. The brief review of legislation in various states finds that all 50 states have formulated policies in the form of legislation, regulations, rules, or guidelines that support education of the gifted and that 33 states mandate gifted education with widely divergent provisions and levels of funding. Pennsylvania currently mandates gifted education and, like 22 other states, places it under the umbrella of special education, thus providing the same procedural safeguards as are provided for children with other exceptionalities. A review of Pennsylvania court cases finds that they support the requirement that services be driven by an individualized education program based on student needs. A Connecticut case is highlighted as illustrating the importance of law that defines giftedness as an exceptionality which requires special programming. Eight recommendations are offered. (Contains 17 references.) (DB)