Bill Text: NY A10027 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the gifted education reinforcement act to establish statewide standards for gifted education programs and to require school districts to be accountable for providing such programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-04 - referred to education [A10027 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A10027-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10027 IN ASSEMBLY March 4, 2020 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. McDONOUGH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing statewide standards for gifted education programs and requiring school districts to be accountable for providing such gifted education programs The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "gifted 2 education reinforcement act". 3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 4454 to read 4 as follows: 5 § 4454. Gifted education. 1. For the purposes of this section, the 6 following terms shall have the following meanings: 7 a. "Gifted" shall mean neurological development which allows one to 8 exhibit cognitive ability and/or ingenuity significantly more sophisti- 9 cated than average in one or more areas. 10 b. "Individualized education program" shall mean an educational plan 11 designed to meet a student's learning needs via the use of various adap- 12 tations. 13 c. "504 plan" shall have the same meaning as defined in the federal 14 rehabilitation act of 1973. 15 d. "Competency-based education" shall mean an educational system based 16 on students' demonstration of mastery of a given topic. 17 2. A board of education shall: 18 a. ensure that sufficient educational services are provided to gifted 19 students from kindergarten through grade twelve and that proper instruc- 20 tional adjustments are made in accordance with established standards; 21 b. create the necessary policies for a continuous identification proc- 22 ess from kindergarten through grade twelve, which shall consist of 23 multiple measures in order to definitively identify strengths in various 24 academic areas. To ensure equal access to the gifted education program, 25 the identification process shall include adaptations for certain groups 26 of students, including those who are English language learners and those 27 with individualized education programs or 504 plans; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15142-02-0A. 10027 2 1 c. provide ample resources and time to develop, reevaluate, and 2 improve instructional tools for gifted education; 3 d. develop and document appropriate curricular and instructional 4 adjustments used for gifted students indicating content, process, 5 products, and learning environment, and including additional educational 6 activities such as academic competitions, guest speakers, and lessons 7 with a specialist. Such adjustments shall be included in staff and 8 student schedules, as well as lesson and unit plans, and shall be 9 accounted for in budgets for educational materials; 10 e. appoint a coordinator who shall oversee the operations and content 11 of the district's gifted education program; 12 f. create and uphold a list of students identified as gifted in every 13 school within the district; and 14 g. actively and consistently provide and support professional develop- 15 ment for teachers, school leaders, and administrative staff regarding 16 gifted education. 17 3. a. The commissioner shall appoint a qualified coordinator of gifted 18 education programs who shall be responsible for reviewing the programs 19 implemented in each school district, assessing whether programs comply 20 with the provisions of this section, and approving subsequent proposals 21 in the area of gifted education. 22 b. Each school district shall file a report with the coordinator of 23 gifted education programs within the duration of the first full school 24 year following the effective date of this section and once every three 25 years thereafter. Such report shall include, but not be limited to: 26 (i) a thorough explanation of the continuum of policies, curriculum, 27 and services implemented in the district pertaining to gifted education; 28 (ii) a complete description of the identification process used by the 29 district to determine placement into the gifted education program; 30 (iii) the total number of students receiving gifted education services 31 and the percentage of the total district student population receiving 32 such services; 33 (iv) the professional development opportunities and services provided 34 on the topic of gifted education; 35 (v) the number of staff employed by the school district whose job 36 responsibilities include the identification and instruction of gifted 37 students; and 38 (vi) a delineation of any plausible future plans for expanding, 39 improving, or otherwise altering the gifted education program imple- 40 mented by the district. 41 4. a. The commissioner shall develop a protocol pursuant to which an 42 individual may file a formal complaint asserting that a school district 43 is noncompliant with this section. Such protocol shall require that 44 upon the filing of a formal complaint the department shall lead an 45 investigation into the accused school district's policies. Such protocol 46 shall also include procedures to be followed in the remediation of gift- 47 ed education programs in noncompliant school districts. 48 b. A complaint submitted to the department may not assert noncompli- 49 ance that has occurred in excess of one year prior to the date of the 50 complaint's filing. The complaint shall include: 51 (i) a statement that the school district in question is in a state of 52 noncompliance with this section; 53 (ii) facts and circumstances that evince and lend credence to the 54 claim that the district is in a state of noncompliance; and 55 (iii) the full name, address, and contact information of the complain- 56 ant.A. 10027 3 1 c. The department shall complete an investigation within ninety days 2 of receipt of a complaint and issue a written decision, including a 3 proposal for remediation if necessary, to the school district and the 4 complainant. 5 5. Each school district shall make information pertaining to its 6 gifted education program available on the school district's website. 7 Such information shall include the school district's policies, services 8 provided via the program, procedures and measures used to identify gift- 9 ed students, and timelines relating to the identification process. 10 6. a. In order to set a uniform standard of entry into gifted 11 programs, the department shall, with the approval of the commissioner 12 and the coordinator of gifted education programs, select a standardized 13 test of intelligence and a standardized test of creativity which shall 14 both be components of the identification process. The criteria to be met 15 by examinations shall consist of the following: 16 (i) the examinations shall be norm-referenced and recognized by a 17 national authority on gifted education; 18 (ii) the examinations shall be able to be individually administered; 19 and 20 (iii) the examinations shall be able to be administered from kinder- 21 garten to grade twelve. 22 b. Every school district shall use the examinations selected by the 23 department pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision when determining 24 eligibility of students for entry into gifted education programs. 25 c. The examinations selected pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivi- 26 sion shall be administered by a qualified psychological examiner. 27 d. Once students are identified as gifted they shall not be obliged to 28 take the examinations selected pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivi- 29 sion again. 30 7. a. A student is eligible for gifted education programs in one or 31 more subjects if the student meets the following criteria: 32 (i) the student demonstrates superior neurological development, as 33 evidenced by an intelligence quotient at least two standard deviations 34 above the mean on a standardized test of intelligence or an individual 35 component of the test; and 36 (ii) the student demonstrates superior creativity, as evidenced by a 37 score in at least the ninetieth percentile on a standardized test of 38 creativity; and 39 (iii) at least one of the following: 40 (1) the student demonstrates above-average ingenuity inside and/or 41 outside the classroom, as observed by the student's teachers; 42 (2) the student demonstrates the need for a special program due to the 43 default educational program in one or more academic areas being insuffi- 44 ciently challenging for the student, as observed by the student's teach- 45 ers; or 46 (3) the student demonstrates an intense voracity for knowledge or 47 motivation for learning that cannot be satisfied by the default educa- 48 tional program in one or more academic areas, as observed by the 49 student's teachers. 50 b. Teachers shall rate students on a scale of one to one hundred in 51 the domains of creativity (criterion 3) and motivation (criterion 5) and 52 recommend all children with scores greater than or equal to ninety to 53 the school district's panel of three or more qualified evaluators if the 54 student already or has previously satisfied the criteria listed in para- 55 graph a of this subdivision. Teachers shall also provide the panel withA. 10027 4 1 additional information regarding the rationale behind the ratings given 2 to recommended students. 3 c. Following the receipt of teacher recommendations, the panel of 4 three or more qualified evaluators shall examine each case and make 5 decisions regarding students' placement. 6 8. a. The department shall develop statewide standards, based on the 7 framework of currently existing standards employed in the state, via the 8 addition of markedly more complex, challenging, and thorough material in 9 order to ensure the stimulation of students enrolled in gifted education 10 programs and the most complete comprehension possible. 11 b. School districts shall develop their own curricula based on stand- 12 ards approved by the department. 13 9. a. School districts shall utilize a combination of individualized 14 education programs and acceleration in gifted education programs, with 15 either one of the two or both being used in accordance to which course 16 is in the best interest of a particular gifted student. 17 b. A gifted student's individualized education program shall be devel- 18 oped by the coordinator of gifted education programs of the school 19 district, with input from the current teachers of the student and input 20 from the school psychologist and guidance counselor, if applicable. 21 Individualized education programs shall involve the use of alternative 22 teaching methods, such as competency-based education, and/or differen- 23 tiated content. 24 c. A gifted student's acceleration plan, if such a plan is deemed 25 suitable for the student, shall be developed by the coordinator of 26 gifted education programs of the school district, with mandatory input 27 from the current teachers of the student and input from the school 28 psychologist and guidance counselor, if applicable. Acceleration shall 29 involve a student's placement into a higher-level class in one, multi- 30 ple, or all subjects dependent on the student's level of proficiency in 31 each subject. 32 10. A student's status of being identified as gifted shall be written 33 in that student's record. 34 11. Gifted education shall be included as a subsection of special 35 education in the department's budget. 36 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 37 the date on which it shall have become a law.
