Virginia Law

A. Each school division shall establish uniform procedures for screening, referring, identifying, and serving students in kindergarten through twelfth grade who are gifted in general intellectual or specific academic aptitude. If the school division elects to identify students in general intellectual aptitude, it shall provide service options from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Identification in a specific academic aptitude area may occur as assessment instruments exist to support identification. If the school division elects to identify students in one or more selected academic aptitude areas, it shall provide service options through twelfth grade. School divisions may identify and serve gifted students in career and technical aptitude or visual or performing arts aptitude, or both, at their discretion.

B. These uniform procedures shall include a screening process that requires instructional personnel to review, at a minimum, current assessment data on each kindergarten through twelfth-grade student annually. Some data used in the screening process may be incorporated into multiple criteria reviewed by the designated identification and placement committee to determine eligibility, but those data shall not replace norm-referenced aptitude test data.

C. These uniform procedures shall permit referrals from parents or legal guardians, teachers, professionals, students, peers, self, or others. Such referrals shall be accepted for kindergarten through twelfth-grade students.

D. An identification and placement committee shall review pertinent information, records, and other performance evidence for referred students. The committee shall consider input from a professional who knows the child. The committee shall include classroom teachers, assessment specialists, gifted program staff, school administrators, or others with credentials or experience in gifted education. The committee shall (i) review data from multiple sources selected and used consistently within the division to assess students' aptitudes in the areas of giftedness the school division serves, (ii) determine whether a student is eligible for the division's services, and (iii) determine which of the school division's service options match the learning needs of the eligible student. The committee may review valid and reliable data administered by another division for a transfer student who has been identified previously.

1. Identification of students for the gifted education program shall be based on multiple criteria established by the school division and designed to seek out those students with superior aptitudes, including students for whom accurate identification may be affected because they are economically disadvantaged, have limited English proficiency, or have a disability. Data shall include scores from valid and reliable instruments that assess students' potential for advanced achievement, as well as instruments that assess demonstrated advanced skills, conceptual knowledge, and problem-solving aptitudes.

2. Valid and reliable data for each referred student shall be examined by the building-level or division-level identification and placement committee. The committee shall determine the eligibility of each referred student for the school division's gifted education services. Students who are found eligible by the identification and placement committee shall be offered service options with appropriately differentiated curriculum and instruction by the school division.

3. The identification process used by each school division must ensure that no single criterion is used to determine a student's eligibility. The identification process shall include at least three measures from the following categories:

a. Assessment of appropriate student products, performance, or portfolio;

b. Record of observation of in-classroom behavior;

c. Appropriate rating scales, checklists, or questionnaires;

d. Individual interview;

e. Individually administered or group-administered, nationally norm-referenced aptitude or achievement tests;

f. Record of previous accomplishments (such as awards, honors, grades, etc.); or

g. Additional valid and reliable measures or procedures.

4. If a program is designed to address general intellectual aptitude, an individually administered or group-administered, nationally norm-referenced aptitude test shall be included as one of the three measures used in the school division's identification procedure.

5. If a program is designed to address specific academic aptitude, an individually administered or group-administered, nationally norm-referenced aptitude or achievement test shall be included as one of the three measures used in the school division's identification procedures.

6. If a program is designed to address either the visual or performing arts or career and technical aptitude, a portfolio or other performance assessment measure in the specific aptitude area shall be included as a part of the data reviewed by the identification and placement committee.

E. Within 90 instructional days, beginning with the receipt of a parent's or legal guardian's consent for assessment, the identification and placement committee shall determine the eligibility status of each student referred for the division's gifted education program and notify the parent or guardian of its decision. If a student is identified as gifted and eligible for services, the identification and placement committee shall determine which service options most effectively meet the assessed learning needs of the student. Identified gifted students shall be offered placement in an instructional setting that provides:

1. Appropriately differentiated curriculum and instruction provided by professional instructional personnel trained to work with gifted students; and

2. Monitored and assessed student outcomes that are reported to the parents and legal guardians.