SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3258

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 4, 2019

     The Senate Education Committee favorably reports Senate Bill No. 3258.

     This bill is entitled the “Strengthening Gifted and Talented Education Act.”  The bill codifies a requirement included in State Board of Education regulations that boards of education ensure that appropriate instructional adaptations and educational services are provided to gifted and talented students in kindergarten through grade 12 to enable them to participate in, benefit from, and demonstrate knowledge and application of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Under the bill, a school district would be required to:

· ensure that appropriate instructional adaptations are designed for gifted and talented students;

· make provisions for an ongoing identification process for gifted and talented students that includes multiple measures in order to identify student strengths in various academic areas;

· maintain a list of students identified as gifted and talented  in each grade for each school within the school district;

· develop and document appropriate curricular and instructional modifications used for gifted and talented students indicating content, process, products, and learning environment;

· take into consideration the Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards of the National Association for Gifted Children in developing programs for gifted and talented students;

· provide the time and resources to develop, review, and enhance instructional tools with modifications for helping gifted and talented students acquire and demonstrate mastery of the required knowledge and skills specified by the standards in one or more content areas at the instructional level of the student, not just the student’s grade level; and

· actively assist and support professional development for teachers, educational services staff, and school leaders in the area of gifted and talented instruction.

     The bill requires the Commissioner of Education to appoint a coordinator for gifted and talented programs.  The coordinator will be responsible for reviewing the gifted and talented program implemented in each school district.  School districts will be required to file periodically with the coordinator a report that includes: the gifted and talented continuum of services, policies and curriculum implemented in the school district; the total number of students receiving gifted and talented services in each grade level; the total number of students who have applied for acceptance into the program; the professional development opportunities provided for gifted and talented educational development; and the number of staff employed by the school district whose job responsibilities include identification of and providing services to gifted and talented students.

     The commissioner will develop a protocol for submitting a complaint alleging that a school district is not in compliance with the provisions of the bill and for the executive county superintendent of schools to investigate a complaint.  The protocol will also include procedures for remediating gifted and talented programs in school districts found to be in noncompliance.  The bill includes the information that must be included in the complaint submitted to the executive county superintendent.  The executive county superintendent will have 60 days to complete the investigation, and then must issue a written decision to the complainant and the school district. The report will also include any proposed remediation.

     The bill also requires school districts to post detailed information on their websites regarding the policies and procedures used to identify students as gifted and talented and the continuum of services offered within the school district.  The information must include the criteria used for consideration for participation in the gifted and talented program, and any applicable timelines in the selection process.

     Finally, the bill provides that a student record must document that the student has been identified by the school district as a gifted and talented student.