Legislation

It takes a village to support California’s gifted learners. That’s why the entire CAG community is active in gifted education advocacy.

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Advocate for gifted children

Gifted students are found in all populations and grade levels. As a result, California must develop the intellectual capacity and the intellectual potential of the next generation to ensure that the state has the opportunity to be a leader in a competitive market. California Association for the Gifted strongly endorses differentiation and excellence in educational programming to meet this goal. California’s diverse gifted and advanced learners have unique needs that require specialized support to grow, develop, and reach for their personal best.  Gifted and advanced children need advocates in their homes, their schools, and their communities that ensure their academic, intellectual, social, and emotional needs are met.  

It is vital that we advocate for laws and policies that will create the necessary supportive environment for gifted learners in California’s schools.

our goals

Advocacy Goals

CAG focuses its Advocacy efforts on policy development that will strengthen programming, services and fiscal supports for gifted and talented education. These goals must also address California’s unique context, local-control, and culturally and linguistically diverse learners.

Advocacy Goal #1: Restore Education Code that Defines Gifted and Talented Learners in CA.

CAG supports the reestablishment of Education Code offering guidance to LEAs in equitably determining which learners should be able to receive gifted and talented educational services and programming.

Advocacy Goal #2: Restore Education Code regarding equitable Gifted and Talented identification practices.

CAG supports the reestablishment of Education Code requiring LEAs to equitably identify students to receive gifted and talented education services and programming. Identification for services and programming should be locally developed, universal, include multiple measures and pathways, and reflect the cultural, linguistic, and economic diversity of their district.

Advocacy Goal #3: Include Gifted and Talented learners as a unique learner group, represented on the CA State Dashboard.

CAG believes that the California Department of Education must gather data in a simple and straightforward manner about the gifted and talented programs and services school districts offer and the students who receive those services. This data should include information regarding academic performance, identification procedures, and program evaluation. This is not to evaluate or rank school districts, but to provide data about the services offered as part of districts’ gifted programming. This will create greater transparency for taxpayers and for parents who need the information to make informed decisions about their children’s education.