Gifted Services Home

Overview of Program

The Harris County School District is committed to the belief that every student has a right to receive an education based on individual needs.  The Harris County Board of Education recognizes the need to provide Gifted education services for students who have the potential for exceptional academic achievement in grades K-12. The development of standards and guidelines for comprehensive programs and services for gifted students in the system's schools emerged from state legislation. The Georgia General Assembly funded a position in the Georgia Department of Education in 1958 to assist local school systems in the development of programs for the gifted.  Since that time the program has expanded to all Georgia school systems and now serves approximately five percent of the state's school population.

Harris County School District's Gifted Education Program assures that the educational environment provides students the opportunity to extend competencies in the areas of cognitive skills, learning skills, research and reference skills, communication skills, and meta-cognitive skills beyond the experiences of the regular classroom. The description of a student qualifying for gifted education services in Georgia may be found in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (20-2-152).  This section defines services for students classified as intellectually gifted.  The description has been expanded in Harris County Schools Policy:  Gifted Education (IDD.1) Local policy IDDD.1 states in its definition that "a student who demonstrates a high degree of intellectual, creative and/or artistic ability(ies), possesses exceptional leadership skills, or excels in specific academic fields and who needs special instruction and/or special ancillary services to achieve at levels commensurate with his or her abilities." The policies and procedures for providing educational services to the gifted students attending Harris County schools are in accordance with Georgia Department of Education Rules 160-4-2-.38.

The Georgia Department of Education’s Gifted Program is funded by the State of Georgia. In Georgia, a gifted education student is defined as one who demonstrates a high degree of intellectual and/or creative ability(ies), exhibits an exceptionally high degree of motivation, and/or excels in specific academic fields, and who needs special instruction and/or special ancillary services to achieve at levels commensurate with his or her ability(ies).

The Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2-.38 EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR GIFTED STUDENTS and the Board-approved Regulations for Gifted Education. The information contained in the manual supplements the rules and regulations and provides assistance to teachers and administrators who provide instructional services to Georgia’s gifted students. Additionally, parents and other interested parties can use the resource manual as a guide to gifted education in Georgia.

Many gifted education decisions and procedures are left to the discretion of local school systems so that they may address the unique needs of their communities. This is especially evident in systems that have been awarded IE-2 or Charter status by the Georgia Board of Education. Please contact your child's school or the Office of Support Services for additional information on the Harris County School District's Gifted Education Program.

Georgia Department of Education

Rule 160-4-2-.38 Education Programs for Gifted Students

Evaluation and Eligibility Chart

Eligibility Requirements:

• In Options A and B, information shall be gathered in each of the four categories.
• At least one of the criteria must be met by a score on a GaDOE approved nationally normed reference test.
• Any data used to establish eligibility in one category shall not be used to establish eligibility in another category.
• If a rating scale is used to evaluate creativity, a rating scale shall not be used to evaluate motivation. If a rating scale is used to evaluate motivation, a rating scale shall not be used to evaluate creativity.
• Any piece of information used to establish eligibility shall be current within two years.
• Local school systems must establish policies in regards to the use of data gathered and analyzed by private entities.

Category	Option A	Option B
	Student must have a qualifying score in the mental ability AND achievement categories.	Student must qualify in three of the four categories.
Mental Ability	Grades K-2 99th% percentile composite score on a nationally age normed mental ability test   Grades 3-12 ≥96th percentile composite score on a nationally age normed mental ability test	Grades K- 12 ≥ 96th percentile composite on a nationally age normed mental ability tests OR 96th percentile on a component score on a nationally age normed mental ability tests
Achievement	Grades K-12 ≥ 90th percentile Total Reading, Total Math, or Complete Battery on a nationally normed achievement test	Grades K-12 ≥ 90th percentile on composite score on a nationally normed creativity test   Grades K-12 Rating scales used to qualify student creativity must equate to the 90th percentile   Grades K-12 Superior product/performance with a score ≥ 90 on a scale of 1-100, as evaluated by a panel of three or more qualified evaluators
Creativity	Evaluation data required	Grades K-12 ≥ 90th percentile on composite score on a nationally normed creativity test   Grades K-12 Rating scales used to qualify student creativity must equate to the 90th percentile   Grades K-12 Superior product/performance with a score ≥ 90 on a scale of 1-100, as evaluated by a panel of three or more qualified evaluators
Motivation	Evaluation data required	Grades 6-12 Two-year average of a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale in regular core subject of mathematics, English/language arts, social studies, science, and full year world languages   Grades K-12 Rating scales used to qualify student motivation must equate to the 90th percentile   Grades K – 12 Superior product/performance with a score ≥ 90 on a scale of 1-100, as evaluated by a panel of three or more qualified evaluators

Identification of gifted students shall be nondiscriminatory with respect to race, religion, national origin, sex, disabilities or economic background.