Pennsylvania Code › Title 22 - EDUCATION › Part I - State Board of Education › Subpart A - Miscellaneous Provisions › Chapter 16 - SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR GIFTED STUDENTS › SCREENING AND EVALUATION PROCESS › Section 16.21 - General

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) Each school
					 district shall adopt and use a system to locate and identify all students
					 within that district who are thought to be gifted and in need of specially
					 designed instruction.
(b) Each
					 school district shall conduct awareness activities to inform the public of
					 gifted education services and programs and the manner by which to request these
					 services and programs. These awareness activities shall be designed to reach
					 parents of students enrolled in the public schools and the parents of school
					 age children not enrolled in the public schools. Awareness activities shall be
					 conducted annually and include providing information in local newspapers, other
					 media, student handbooks and on the school district web site.
(c) Each school district shall determine the
					 student's needs through a screening and evaluation process which meets the
					 requirements of this chapter.
(d)
					 Each school district shall establish procedures to determine whether a student
					 is mentally gifted. This term includes a person who has an IQ of 130 or higher
					 or when multiple criteria as set forth in this chapter and in Department
					 Guidelines indicate gifted ability. Determination of gifted ability will not be
					 based on IQ score alone. Deficits in memory or processing speed, as indicated
					 by testing, cannot be the sole basis upon which a student is determined to be
					 ineligible for gifted special education. A person with an IQ score lower than
					 130 may be admitted to gifted programs when other educational criteria in the
					 profile of the person strongly indicate gifted ability. Determination of
					 mentally gifted must include an assessment by a certified school
					 psychologist.
(e) Multiple criteria
					 indicating gifted ability include:
(1) A year
					 or more above grade achievement level for the normal age group in one or more
					 subjects as measured by Nationally normed and validated achievement tests able
					 to accurately reflect gifted performance. Subject results shall yield academic
					 instruction levels in all academic subject areas.
(2) An observed or measured rate of
					 acquisition/retention of new academic content or skills that reflect gifted
					 ability.
(3) Demonstrated
					 achievement, performance or expertise in one or more academic areas as
					 evidenced by excellence of products, portfolio or research, as well as
					 criterion-referenced team judgment.
(4) Early and measured use of high level
					 thinking skills, academic creativity, leadership skills, intense academic
					 interest areas, communications skills, foreign language aptitude or technology
					 expertise.
(5) Documented,
					 observed, validated or assessed evidence that intervening factors such as
					 English as a second language, disabilities defined in
					 34 CFR
					 300.8 (relating to child with a disability),
					 gender or race bias, or socio/cultural deprivation are masking gifted
					 abilities.