Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 7 - Education K-12 › Part 10 - Regulations for the Gifted Education Programs in Mississippi › STUDENT IDENTIFICATION PROCESSES

Current through June 25, 2024
The student identification processes are separated into six
				steps for each of the four different eligibility categories: Intellectually,
				Artistically and Creatively Gifted for students in grades 2-12, and
				Academically Gifted for students in grades 9-12. The six steps are: referral,
				(LSC) review, parental permission for testing, assessment, assessment report,
				and the eligibility ruling by the LSC.
When the district is developing identification procedures, the
				following shall be considered:
The identification process shall consist of a combination of
				subjective and objective measures to determine eligibility for the gifted
				programs. No single evaluation method or instrument adequately identifies
				students who are gifted. Thus, a
multi-factored identification
				process
must be followed to insure a fair evaluation of each individual
				student.
The identification process shall provide an equitable
				opportunity for the inclusion of students who are culturally diverse,
				underachieving, disabled under IDEA guidelines, physically handicapped,
				ADD/ADHD, as well as students who exhibit classroom behavior such as extreme
				shyness, short attention spans, disruptiveness, continual questioning, and
				anxiety. Throughout the identification process, close attention and careful
				consideration shall be paid to all information available and collected on each
				individual student and how that information dictates the kinds of instruments
				and measures that should be used to correctly assess that student.
All instruments administered and measures must have been
				validated for the specific purpose for which they are being used. Hearing,
				vision, and general physical examinations are suggested but are not
				required.
District personnel shall make decisions as to which measures
				will be used during the referral process and what the local minimal acceptable
				criteria will be for each measure. This information must be documented in
				writing at the district level. District personnel shall make decisions as to
				which measures will be used during the assessment process and whether the
				minimal acceptable criteria set in regulations will be used, or if a higher
				minimal acceptable criteria will be used. The assessment criteria and minimal
				acceptable criteria to be used shall be documented in writing in the district's
				Gifted Education Program Proposal submitted to the Office of Gifted Education
				Programs at the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) and approved by the
				State Board of Education (SBE).
Identification as gifted in one area does not automatically
				make a student eligible for services in one or more of the other areas of
				giftedness in Mississippi. However, a student with an Intellectually Gifted
				eligibility ruling may be served in an Academically Gifted program in grades
				9-12 without obtaining an Academically Gifted eligibility ruling. Since not all
				intellectually gifted students are also academically gifted, and since many
				intellectually gifted students are not high academic achievers in all academic
				areas, careful consideration shall be given as to the appropriate placement in
				the academically gifted program.