I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2338 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to aid 
gifted and talented and high-ability learners by empowering the Nation’s 
teachers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 12, 2013 
Mr. POLIS (for himself and Mr. LATHAM) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in 
addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to aid gifted and talented and high-ability learn-
ers by empowering the Nation’s teachers, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘To 
Aid Gifted and High-Ability Learners by Empowering the 
Nation’s Teachers Act’’ or the ‘‘TALENT Act’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. References. 
TITLE I—IMPROVING BASIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS 
Sec. 101. State plans. 
Sec. 102. Annual State report cards. 
Sec. 103. Local educational agency plans. 
Sec. 104. National Assessment of title I. 
TITLE II—IMPROVING TEACHING FOR GIFTED AND TALENTED 
STUDENTS 
Sec. 201. State applications. 
Sec. 202. Local applications and needs assessments. 
Sec. 203. Local use of funds. 
Sec. 204. Subgrants to eligible partnerships. 
TITLE III—GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS IN RURAL 
SCHOOLS 
Sec. 301. Small rural school achievement program. 
Sec. 302. Rural and low-income school program. 
TITLE IV—SUPPORTING ESSENTIAL RESEARCH ON THE 
LEARNING NEEDS OF GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS 
Sec. 401. Supporting essential research on the learning needs of gifted and tal-
ented students. 
TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Sec. 501. Definitions. 
Sec. 502. Amendments to other laws. 
Sec. 503. Effective Date. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Academically gifted and talented students 
make up an estimated 6 to 10 percent of the pre-
kindergarten through grade 12 student population, 
totaling between 3,000,000 and 6,000,000 students. 
(2) There is a growing excellence gap at the 
highest levels of achievement between the perform-
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ance of subgroups of students, particularly between 
the performance of students who are African-Amer-
ican or Hispanic and the performance of White stu-
dents, and between low-income students compared to 
their more advantaged peers, on statewide assess-
ments and on the National Assessment of Edu-
cational Progress. 
(3) Advanced students in the United States lag 
behind the performance of similar students in other 
countries, which puts the Nation at a competitive 
disadvantage. 
(4) Gifted and talented students, and high-abil-
ity students who have not been formally identified 
for gifted education services, require modifications to 
the general education curriculum to fully meet their 
potential. 
(5) Effective assessment and instruction of gift-
ed and talented students requires educators to have 
specialized knowledge and skills. 
(6) Ninety percent of teachers nationwide want 
more professional development focused on the skills 
necessary for teaching advanced students. 
(7) Interventions and strategies that have been 
demonstrated to be successful with gifted and tal-
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ented students can be modified to improve the 
achievement of all students. 
(8) The availability of gifted education pro-
grams and services to students who require such 
services is unequal and often relies solely on local re-
sources and leadership, leaving many high-ability 
students from rural areas or who are English lan-
guage learners or Hispanic, African-American, or 
Native American, among others, without access to 
appropriate services. 
(9) There are an estimated 360,000 students in 
the United States who are both gifted and have a 
disability. These ‘‘twice exceptional’’ children present 
special challenges because their disability often 
masks their academic potential or their academic 
strengths may mask their disability, resulting in a 
lack of services and supports for this student popu-
lation. 
(10) The development and dissemination of re-
search and national data on gifted and talented stu-
dents is necessary to— 
(A) guide evidence-based classroom prac-
tices vital to meeting the unique needs of this 
population of students; and 
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(B) contribute to the decisionmaking of 
educators, families, and policymakers. 
SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi-
sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 
section or other provision of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 
TITLE I—IMPROVING BASIC 
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS 
SEC. 101. STATE PLANS. 
(a) ACCOUNTABILITY.—Section 1111(b)(2)(A) (20 
U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(A)) is amended— 
(1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 
semicolon; 
(2) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iv) include a recognition program 
for local educational agencies in the State 
that, for each category of students de-
scribed in subparagraph (C)(v), signifi-
cantly increase the proportion of students 
scoring at or above the advanced level of 
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achievement on the State academic assess-
ments under paragraph (3).’’. 
(b) STATE ASSESSMENTS.—Section 1111(b)(3)(C) 
(20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)) is amended— 
(1) in clause (xiv), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 
semicolon; 
(2) in clause (xv), by striking the period and in-
serting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(xvi) measure individual academic 
achievement, including measuring above 
grade level achievement.’’. 
(c) ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.—Section 1111(b)(8) 
(20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(8)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub-
paragraph (F); and 
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(E) the specific steps the State edu-
cational agency will take to assist each local 
educational agency and school affected by the 
State plan to provide additional educational as-
sistance to individual students who— 
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‘‘(i) perform at the advanced level of 
achievement on the State academic assess-
ments described in paragraph (3); and 
‘‘(ii) are gifted and talented (including 
high-ability students who have not been 
formally identified for gifted education 
services); and’’. 
SEC. 102. ANNUAL STATE REPORT CARDS. 
Section 1111(h)(1)(C) (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(1)(C)) is 
amended— 
(1) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and in-
serting a semicolon; 
(2) by redesignating clause (viii) as clause (ix); 
and 
(3) by inserting after clause (vii) the following: 
‘‘(viii) a comparison of the perform-
ance of students between different local 
educational agencies across the State at 
each level of achievement described in sub-
section (b)(1)(D)(ii), disaggregated by the 
subgroups 
described 
in 
subsection 
(b)(2)(C)(v); and’’. 
SEC. 103. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PLANS. 
(a) PLAN
PROVISIONS.—Section 1112(b)(1) (20 
U.S.C. 6312(b)(1)) is amended— 
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(1) in subparagraph (P), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(2) in subparagraph (Q), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(R) a description of how the local edu-
cational agency will identify gifted and talented 
students, including high-ability students who 
have not previously been formally identified for 
gifted education services, and implement edu-
cational approaches at the elementary and sec-
ondary levels to support the learning needs of 
gifted and talented students to ensure that such 
students make appropriate learning gains, such 
as early entrance to kindergarten, enrichment, 
acceleration, curriculum compacting, and dual 
enrollment in secondary school and postsec-
ondary education.’’. 
(b) SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS.—Section 1114(b)(1) 
(20 U.S.C. 6314(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(K) A description of how the school will 
identify gifted and talented students, including 
high-ability students who have not previously 
been formally identified for gifted education 
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services, and provide services to support the 
learning needs of such students to ensure that 
such 
students 
make 
appropriate 
learning 
gains.’’. 
(c) TARGETED
ASSISTANCE
SCHOOLS.—Section 
1115(c)(1) (20 U.S.C. 6315(c)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(2) in subparagraph (H), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(I) identify gifted and talented students, 
including high-ability students who have not 
previously been formally identified for gifted 
education services, and provide services to sup-
port the learning needs of such students to en-
sure that gifted and talented and high-ability 
students make appropriate learning gains.’’. 
SEC. 104. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF TITLE I. 
Section 1501(a)(2)(E) (20 U.S.C. 6491(a)(2)(E)) is 
amended— 
(1) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘and’’; 
(2) in clause (v), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
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