A380

An Act concerning programs for academically gifted and talented students, supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and making an appropriation.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New Jersey Academically Gifted and Talented Student Education Act."

2. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. academically gifted and talented children are special needs children;

b. public schools must provide for the needs as well as encourage and support academically gifted and talented children;

c. academically gifted and talented children require early identification and intervention, which must be provided by the public schools;

d. academically gifted and talented children must have appropriate curriculum adapted to meet the pace and depth of their learning needs in order to reach their full potential and development;

e. academically gifted and talented children are not disproportionately concentrated among members of any particular racial or ethnic group or gender; and

f. public schools must provide viable curriculum modifications for academically gifted and talented students for their cognitive, creative and emotional needs.

3. As used in this act, "academically gifted and talented students" means those exceptionally able students who possess or demonstrate high levels of ability in one or more content areas when compared to their chronological peers in the local district and who require modifications of their educational program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities.

4. No later than three years after the effective date of this act, each local board of education shall have developed and submitted to the Department of Education a local plan designed to identify, and establish procedures for providing appropriate services to, each academically gifted and talented student in grades kindergarten through 12. The board shall include parents, teachers of the gifted and talented or advanced students, general education teachers, and specialists in areas such as guidance and media and technology in the development of this plan. The plan may be developed by, or in conjunction with, other committees, such as Local Professional
Development Boards, or in accordance with an accepted school improvement plan.

5. Each plan shall include the following components:

a. screening, identification and placement procedures that allow for the identification of specific educational needs and for the assignment of academically gifted and talented students; a district's identification program shall include, but not be limited to, students having: (1) exceptional creative thinking ability; (2) exceptional general intellectual ability or talent; and (3) specific exceptional academic aptitude as demonstrated through mastery of the Core Curriculum Content Standards and adaptations of the Core Curriculum Content Standards frameworks to provide appropriate challenges for academically gifted and talented students;

b. a clear statement of the programs to be offered that includes different types of services provided in a variety of settings to meet the diversity of identified academically gifted and talented students;

c. measurable objectives for the various services that align with the Core Curriculum Content Standards and adaptations of the Core Curriculum Content Standards frameworks to provide appropriate challenges for academically gifted and talented students and a method to evaluate the plan and the services offered;

d. professional development clearly matched to the goals and objectives of the plan, the needs of the staff providing services to academically gifted and talented students, the services offered, and the curricular modifications;

e. a plan to involve the school community and parents in the ongoing implementation of the local plan, monitoring of the local plan, and integration of educational services for academically gifted and talented students into the total school program, including a public information component;

f. the name and role description of the person responsible for implementation of the plan;

g. a procedure to resolve disagreements between parents or guardians and the local district when a child is not identified as an academically gifted and talented student or concerning the appropriateness of services offered to the academically gifted and talented student;

h. a plan to ensure that every reasonable effort is undertaken to prevent any disadvantaged racial or ethnic minority from being under represented among the students who are identified as academically gifted and talented; and

i. any other information the district considers necessary or appropriate to implement the plan.

6. The Department of Education shall develop and disseminate guidelines for developing local plans. These guidelines should address identification procedures, differentiated curriculum, integrated services, staff professional development, program evaluation methods and any other information the department considers necessary or appropriate.

7. Districts shall offer to academically gifted and talented students a full continuum of services, including, but not limited to, adaptations such as acceleration, grouping and enrichment, as demonstrated in the Core Curriculum Content Standards and supporting documents, including adaptations of the Core Curriculum Content Standards frameworks to provide appropriate challenges for academically gifted and talented students. Design variables may be utilized, including, but not limited to, homogeneously grouped classes for students who have been identified as academically gifted and talented; pull-out classes; cluster grouping in the subject areas of the pupils' strengths across grade and age levels; special schools, such as magnet schools; mentorships; acceleration programs; and seminars. An eligible student shall spend at least 200 minutes a week in the modified or specialized curriculum program.

8. Information about the identification of a student as an academically advanced and gifted student, including the criteria used to determine identification and scores of any assessments utilized, shall be included in the cumulative folder or permanent record of each identified student.

9. Upon approval by the district of the plan developed under this act, the district may amend the plan as often as it considers necessary or appropriate. Any changes to a plan shall be submitted to the department for is review and approval.

10. Each district shall submit to the Department of Education an annual report of its progress in conforming with the objectives and goals established under this act. The district's annual report shall include, but not be limited to:

a. demographic data related to each school;

b. plans and programs for professional development in the education of academically gifted and talented students;

c. recommendations for improvements during the following year; and

d. a description of the program for identification and the curriculum in place.

11. a. The department shall establish a program and applicable criteria to award grants to districts for the development or modification of local plans for academically gifted and talented students, and professional development opportunities to assist teachers in developing teaching instruments and practices for those students. In no case shall these grants exceed $8,000 per district. The grants shall be awarded during the 2007-2008 school year.

b. For the 2008-2009 school year and thereafter, funding shall be provided to districts based on the following formula:

AGTA=AGTACF x AGT where

AGTACF is the additional cost factor for academically gifted and talented categorical aid; and AGT is the number of academically gifted and talented students enrolled in the district.

In no case shall AGT exceed 10% of the district's resident enrollment.

For the purpose of calculating aid for the 2008-2009 school year, AGTACF = $800. For subsequent years, the additional cost factor shall be established biennially in the Report on the Cost of Providing a Thorough and Efficient Education and adjusted for inflation by the CPI for the second year of the period to which the report applies.

State funds allocated for academically gifted and talented students shall be used to provide services and programs for those students or in accordance with an accepted school improvement plan for any purpose so long as that school demonstrates it is providing appropriate services to students assigned to that school in accordance with the local academically gifted and talented education plan.

12. The Department of Education shall report to the Joint Committee on Public Schools annually on the implementation of this act.

13. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Education $5,000,000 for the purposes of providing grants pursuant to subsection a. of section 11 of this act.

14. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires a school board to develop a plan to identify, and establish procedures for providing services to, each academically gifted and talented student in grades kindergarten through 12. The bill also provides funding for the programs. As used in the bill, "academically gifted and talented students" means those exceptionally able students who possess or demonstrate high levels of ability in one or more content areas when compared to their chronological peers in the local district and who require modifications of their educational program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities.

Under the bill, a local plan must be developed and submitted to the Department of Education no later than three years after the effective date of the act. The school board would include parents, teachers of the gifted and talented or advanced students, general education teachers, and specialists in areas such as guidance and media and technology in the development of the plan.

The plan should include such components as: screening, identification and placement procedures; a clear statement of the programs to be offered; measurable objectives for the various services that align with the Core Curriculum Content Standards and adaptations of the Core Curriculum Content Standards frameworks to provide appropriate challenges for academically gifted and talented students and a method to evaluate the plan and the services offered; professional development clearly matched to the goals and objectives of the plan; a plan to involve the school community and parents in the ongoing implementation of the local plan; a procedure to resolve disagreements between parents or guardians and the local district when a child is not identified as an academically gifted and talented student; a plan to ensure that every reasonable effort is undertaken to prevent any disadvantaged racial or ethnic minority from being under represented among the students who are identified as academically gifted and talented; and any other information the district considers necessary or appropriate to implement the plan.

Guidelines for developing the local plans would be provided by the Department of Education. The guidelines should address identification procedures, differentiated curriculum, integrated services, staff professional development, program evaluation methods and any other information the department considers necessary or appropriate.

An eligible student would spend at least 200 minutes a week in the modified or specialized curriculum program, and information about the identification of a student as an academically gifted and talented child, including the criteria used to determine identification and scores of any assessments utilized, would be included in the cumulative folder or permanent record of each identified student.

Under the bill, a district is required to submit an annual report to the Department of Education of its progress in conforming with the objectives and goals of the program, and the Department of Education is required to report annually to the Joint Committee on Public Schools on the implementation of the program.

The Department of Education is required to establish a program and applicable criteria to award grants to districts for the development or modification of local academically gifted and talented plans, and professional development opportunities to assist teachers in developing teaching instruments and practices for academically gifted and talented students. The grants would be awarded during the 2007-2008 school year and could not exceed $8,000 per district.

For the 2008-2009 school year and thereafter, funding would be provided to districts through academically gifted and talented categorical aid. For the 2008-2009 school year, the additional cost factor would be $800 per pupil, and in subsequent years the additional cost factor would be established biennially in the Report on the Cost of Providing a Thorough and Efficient Education and adjusted for inflation by the CPI for the second year of the period to which the report applies. In no case could the number of academically gifted and talented pupils exceed 10% of a district's enrollment.

The bill appropriates $5,000,000 to the Department of Education to cover the costs of grants awarded during the 2007-2008 school year.