Gifted and Talented Identification Procedures and Processes

Waco Independent School District has board approved identification procedures and processes for students K-12 who require the services of the Gifted/Talented Program. These procedures meet state requirements (§29.121 & TAC 89.1) and have been designed to ensure the identification of any student who demonstrates educational need for the services of the program under the established guidelines.

School districts shall develop written policies on student identification that are approved by the local board of trustees and disseminated to parents. The policies must:

1. Include provisions for ongoing screening and selection of students who perform, or show potential for performing, at remarkably high levels of accomplishment in the areas defined in the Texas Education Code, §29.121;
2. Include assessment measures collected from multiple sources according to each area defined in the Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students;
3. Include data and procedures designed to ensure that students from all populations in the district have access to the assessment process and, if identified as having significant educational need for advanced academics, services for the gifted/talented program;
4. Provide for final qualification of students (through a blind process) to be made by a committee of at least three local district educators who have received training in the nature and needs of gifted students; and
5. Include provisions regarding furloughs, reassessment, exiting of students from program services, transfer students, and appeals of district decisions regarding program placement.

APPEALS

Parents, educators, or students may appeal an admission decision of the Advanced Academics Admission, Review, and Exit (A.R.E) committee by asking for reconsideration of the results of any part of the G/T identification process. An official Request for Reconsideration appeal form can be obtained from the Advanced Academics office. This form must outline the reasons for the appeal and provide supporting documentation. A parent signature is required on the appeal form for the information to be considered. The individual (student, teacher, parent, or administrator) submitting the appeal must provide evidence that the student’s knowledge, skills, and abilities are superior to those demonstrated and measured during the initial screening. To be reviewed, the form must be completed and returned to the Director of Advanced Academic Services within 10 business days of the postmark date on the notification letter and must contain information supporting one or more of the appeal conditions. Upon receipt of a submitted Request for Reconsideration, the Advanced Academic Services Advisory Committee will convene to review the request. Upon review of all information related to the appeal, the Advisory Committee will make one of the following decisions:

1)  accept the data provided and grant the appeal request,
2)  request further testing, or
3)  determine a lack of evidence exists to support identification or further testing and decline the appeal request.

The Advisory Committee will make a decision within 30 days of receipt of the appeal request. Parents(s)/guardians(s) will be notified by mail within one week of the final decision. Please note: A.R.E. committee decisions are only reversed in instances where a preponderance of documentation provides significant evidence that the child’s knowledge, skills, and abilities are superior to those measured during the initial identification process.
The decision of the Advanced Academics Advisory Committee is final.

The Appeal Request Form can be found under the Forms tab.