Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › Division 15 - Division of Learning Services › Rule 005.15.09-003 - Gifted and Talented Program Approval Standards

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
OVERVIEW
Responding to the concern for educational programming for
				gifted and talented students, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 106 of
				1979. This legislation established the Office for the Education of Gifted and
				Talented Children, headed by an administrator to direct the state program.
				Funds were appropriated to provide financial assistance to school districts
				operating programs for gifted and talented students.
Guidelines were developed to provide information to assist
				districts in planning, implementing, and evaluating programs for gifted and
				talented students. This document, Education of Gifted and Talented Students:
				Guidelines for Local Education Agencies, was approved by the State Board of
				Education in 1981.
Since that time, a number of pieces of legislation enacted have
				had a profound effect on gifted education.
Act 445 of 1983, the Quality Education Act, established minimum
				standards for accreditation of public schools and authorized the State Board to
				name a committee to recommend regulations, criteria, and minimum standards. The
				Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools, which were adopted by
				the State Board of Education February 22, 1984, included a provision that all
				districts must provide a program for gifted and talented students.
Act 34 of 1983, First Extraordinary Session, the School Finance
				Act, provided funding for districts which were developing or operating programs
				for gifted and talented students. The Department of Education was directed to
				set aside annually, beginning in 1984-85, funds for program development, not to
				exceed $6 million. Districts which were operating approved programs were
				eligible to receive funds based on an "add on" weight of .25 for each student
				identified as gifted and talented (funding was based on no more than five
				percent of the district's average daily membership).
The original guidelines developed to assist districts were then
				refined and updated and became the Rules and Regulations for gifted education
				in Arkansas. This document, Gifted and Talented Program Approval Standards, was
				approved by the State Board of Education in 1987, revised in 1999 and
				2009.
Act 917 of 1995 changed the funding process to local school
				districts regarding gifted and talented students. The new law now stipulates an
				expenditure requirement replacing the funding provision that had previously
				existed. This expenditure requirement reads: Local school districts shall
				expend from state and local revenues not less than the following amounts on
				gifted and talented programs, in accordance with rules and regulations
				promulgated by the State Board of Education - the previous year's average daily
				membership participating in gifted and talented programs, up to five percent
				(5%) of the previous year's average daily membership, multiplied by fifteen
				hundredths (.15) times the base local revenue per student. The following
				definition shall guide districts in providing services and opportunities for
				students identified as gifted and talented in Arkansas:
Gifted and talented children and youth are those of
				high potential or ability whose learning characteristics and educational needs
				require qualitatively differentiated educational experiences and/or
				services.
Possession of these talents and gifts, or the potential
				for their development, will be evidenced through an interaction of above
				average intellectual ability, task commitment and/or motivation, and creative
				ability.
PURPOSE OF THE DOCUMENT
The purpose of this document is to establish the minimum
				standards for approval of programs which meet the requirements of the Standards
				of Accreditation adopted by the State Board of Education February 22, 1984, and
				have been effective since June 1, 1987.
Included are guidelines, which enable school districts
				to:
1) Establish equitable criteria
			 for identification of gifted and talented students;
2) Establish programs which will lead to
			 appropriate educational opportunities for these students; and
3) Establish procedures to evaluate the
			 effectiveness of the provisions of these educational opportunities.
School districts may choose to work cooperatively to develop
				and operate programs for their gifted students. Any mention of "district" in
				this document applies also to a group of districts working as a cooperative.
This definition does not include Educational Service Cooperatives
				established under Act 349 of 1985
.
Standards for approved programs are listed on the following
				pages. Evidence verifying compliance should be kept on file in the district so
				that it will be available for review by the Department of Education when the
				district is monitored.
Please note that these are minimum, not optimum,
				standards. Districts are encouraged to go beyond them in providing educational
				opportunities for their gifted and talented students. No school district may
				establish criteria which are less than the standards required in this document
				and the Arkansas Department of Education's Rules and Regulations for Gifted and
				Talented Program Approval.
The written policies required by these Rules should be
				approved by the local Board of Education, made available to all stakeholders
				and reviewed annually for updates and revisions.
ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
RULES AND REGULATIONS
GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM APPROVAL STANDARDS
Revised June 1999, 2009
1.00
Regulatory Authority
1.01 These regulations shall be known as the
			 Arkansas Department of Education Regulations Governing Gifted and Talented
			 Program Approval Standards.
1.02
			 The State Board of Education enacted these regulations pursuant to its
			 authority under Arkansas Code Annotated §
									6-42-102 (Repl.
			 1993).