Virginia Law

The words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Appropriately differentiated curriculum and instruction" means curriculum and instruction adapted or modified to accommodate the accelerated learning aptitudes of identified students in their areas of strength. Such curriculum and instructional strategies provide accelerated and enrichment opportunities that recognize gifted students' needs for (i) advanced content and pacing of instruction; (ii) original research or production; (iii) problem finding and solving; (iv) higher level thinking that leads to the generation of products; and (v) a focus on issues, themes, and ideas within and across areas of study. Such curriculum and instruction are offered continuously and sequentially to support the achievement of student outcomes, and provide support necessary for these students to work at increasing levels of complexity that differ significantly from those of their age-level peers.

"Eligible student" means a student who has been identified as gifted by the identification and placement committee for the school division's gifted education program.

"Gifted students" means those students in public elementary, middle, and secondary schools beginning with kindergarten through twelfth grade who demonstrate high levels of accomplishment or who show the potential for higher levels of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment. Their aptitudes and potential for accomplishment are so outstanding that they require special programs to meet their educational needs. These students will be identified by professionally qualified persons through the use of multiple criteria as having potential or demonstrated aptitudes in one or more of the following areas:

1. General intellectual aptitude. Such students demonstrate or have the potential to demonstrate superior reasoning; persistent intellectual curiosity; advanced use of language; exceptional problem solving; rapid acquisition and mastery of facts, concepts, and principles; and creative and imaginative expression across a broad range of intellectual disciplines beyond their age-level peers.

2. Specific academic aptitude. Such students demonstrate or have the potential to demonstrate superior reasoning; persistent intellectual curiosity; advanced use of language; exceptional problem solving; rapid acquisition and mastery of facts, concepts, and principles; and creative and imaginative expression beyond their age-level peers in selected academic areas that include English, history and social science, mathematics, or science.

3. Career and technical aptitude. Such students demonstrate or have the potential to demonstrate superior reasoning; persistent technical curiosity; advanced use of technical language; exceptional problem solving; rapid acquisition and mastery of facts, concepts, and principles; and creative and imaginative expression beyond their age-level peers in career and technical fields.

4. Visual or performing arts aptitude. Such students demonstrate or have the potential to demonstrate superior creative reasoning and imaginative expression; persistent artistic curiosity; and advanced acquisition and mastery of techniques, perspectives, concepts, and principles beyond their age-level peers in visual or performing arts.

"Identification" means the multistaged process of finding students who are eligible for service options offered through the division's gifted education program. The identification process begins with a divisionwide screening component that is followed by a referral component, and that concludes with the determination of eligibility by the school division's identification and placement committee or committees. The identification process includes the review of valid and reliable student data based on criteria established and applied consistently by the school division. The process shall include the review of information or data from multiple sources to determine whether a student's aptitudes and learning needs are most appropriately served through the school division's gifted education program.

"Identification and placement committee" means the building-level or division-level committee that shall determine a student's eligibility for the division's gifted education program, based on the student's assessed aptitude and learning needs. The identification and placement committee shall determine which of the school division's service options are appropriate for meeting the learning needs of the eligible student.

"Learning needs of gifted students" means gifted students' needs for advanced and complex content that is paced and sequenced to respond to their persistent intellectual, artistic, or technical curiosity; exceptional problem-solving abilities; rapid acquisition and mastery of information; conceptual thinking processes; and imaginative expression across a broad range of disciplines.

"Placement" means the determination of the appropriate educational options for each eligible student.

"Referral" means the formal and direct process that parents or legal guardians, teachers, professionals, students, peers, self, or others use to request that a kindergarten through twelfth-grade student be assessed for gifted education program services.

"Screening" means the annual process of creating a pool for candidates from kindergarten through twelfth grade using multiple criteria through the referral process, the review of current assessment data, or other information from other sources. Screening is the active search for students who are then referred for the formal identification process.

"Service options" means the instructional approaches, settings, and staffing selected for the delivery of appropriate service or services provided to eligible students based on their assessed needs in their areas of strength.

"Student outcomes" means the advanced achievement and performance expectations established for each gifted student, through the review of the student's assessed learning needs and the goals of the program of study, that are reviewed and reported to parents or legal guardians.