Virginia Administrative Code › Title 8 - EDUCATION › Agency 20 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Chapter 40 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR GIFTED STUDENTS › Section 8VAC20-40-20 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
The words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the
				  following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Appropriately differentiated curriculum and instruction"
				  means curriculum and instruction adapted or modified to accommodate the
				  accelerated learning aptitudes of identified students in their areas of
				  strength. Such curriculum and instructional strategies provide accelerated and
				  enrichment opportunities that recognize gifted students' needs for (i) advanced
				  content and pacing of instruction; (ii) original research or production; (iii)
				  problem finding and solving; (iv) higher level thinking that leads to the
				  generation of products; and (v) a focus on issues, themes, and ideas within and
				  across areas of study. Such curriculum and instruction are offered continuously
				  and sequentially to support the achievement of student outcomes, and provide
				  support necessary for these students to work at increasing levels of complexity
				  that differ significantly from those of their age-level peers.
"Eligible student" means a student who has been identified as
				  gifted by the identification and placement committee for the school division's
				  gifted education program.
"Gifted students" means those students in public elementary,
				  middle, and secondary schools beginning with kindergarten through twelfth grade
				  who demonstrate high levels of accomplishment or who show the potential for
				  higher levels of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age,
				  experience, or environment. Their aptitudes and potential for accomplishment
				  are so outstanding that they require special programs to meet their educational
				  needs. These students will be identified by professionally qualified persons
				  through the use of multiple criteria as having potential or demonstrated
				  aptitudes in one or more of the following areas:
1. General intellectual aptitude. Such
				students demonstrate or have the potential to demonstrate superior reasoning;
				persistent intellectual curiosity; advanced use of language; exceptional
				problem solving; rapid acquisition and mastery of facts, concepts, and
				principles; and creative and imaginative expression across a broad range of
				intellectual disciplines beyond their age-level peers.
2. Specific academic aptitude. Such students
				demonstrate or have the potential to demonstrate superior reasoning; persistent
				intellectual curiosity; advanced use of language; exceptional problem solving;
				rapid acquisition and mastery of facts, concepts, and principles; and creative
				and imaginative expression beyond their age-level peers in selected academic
				areas that include English, history and social science, mathematics, or
				science.
3. Career and technical
				aptitude. Such students demonstrate or have the potential to demonstrate
				superior reasoning; persistent technical curiosity; advanced use of technical
				language; exceptional problem solving; rapid acquisition and mastery of facts,
				concepts, and principles; and creative and imaginative expression beyond their
				age-level peers in career and technical fields.
4. Visual or performing arts aptitude. Such
				students demonstrate or have the potential to demonstrate superior creative
				reasoning and imaginative expression; persistent artistic curiosity; and
				advanced acquisition and mastery of techniques, perspectives, concepts, and
				principles beyond their age-level peers in visual or performing arts.
"Identification" means the multistaged process of finding
				  students who are eligible for service options offered through the division's
				  gifted education program. The identification process begins with a divisionwide
				  screening component that is followed by a referral component, and that
				  concludes with the determination of eligibility by the school division's
				  identification and placement committee or committees. The identification
				  process includes the review of valid and reliable student data based on
				  criteria established and applied consistently by the school division. The
				  process shall include the review of information or data from multiple sources
				  to determine whether a student's aptitudes and learning needs are most
				  appropriately served through the school division's gifted education
				  program.
"Identification and placement committee" means the
				  building-level or division-level committee that shall determine a student's
				  eligibility for the division's gifted education program, based on the student's
				  assessed aptitude and learning needs. The identification and placement
				  committee shall determine which of the school division's service options are
				  appropriate for meeting the learning needs of the eligible student.
"Learning needs of gifted students" means gifted students'
				  needs for advanced and complex content that is paced and sequenced to respond
				  to their persistent intellectual, artistic, or technical curiosity; exceptional
				  problem-solving abilities; rapid acquisition and mastery of information;
				  conceptual thinking processes; and imaginative expression across a broad range
				  of disciplines.
"Placement" means the determination of the appropriate
				  educational options for each eligible student.
"Referral" means the formal and direct process that parents
				  or legal guardians, teachers, professionals, students, peers, self, or others
				  use to request that a kindergarten through twelfth-grade student be assessed
				  for gifted education program services.
"Screening" means the annual process of creating a pool for
				  candidates from kindergarten through twelfth grade using multiple criteria
				  through the referral process, the review of current assessment data, or other
				  information from other sources. Screening is the active search for students who
				  are then referred for the formal identification process.
"Service options" means the instructional approaches,
				  settings, and staffing selected for the delivery of appropriate service or
				  services provided to eligible students based on their assessed needs in their
				  areas of strength.
"Student outcomes" means the advanced achievement and
				  performance expectations established for each gifted student, through the
				  review of the student's assessed learning needs and the goals of the program of
				  study, that are reviewed and reported to parents or legal
				  guardians.
Statutory Authority
§ 22.1-16 of the Code of Virginia.