Illinois State Board of Education Budget Hearing
The Illinois Association for Gifted Children submitted testimony in October to the Illinois State Board of Education requesting funding
for gifted education in the amount of $27 million. CGCC and IAGC board member and
IAGC Policy and Advocacy Committee Co-Chair, Pamela Shaw, spoke on behalf of the IAGC at
the October 14, 2020 ISBE virtual budget hearing. The state of
Illinois has had no funding for gifted education since 2003, leaving too
many students, especially those who are Black, Latinx, and economically
disadvantaged without opportunities to develop their talents. The
requested amount is based on the budget for gifted education in 2003,
adjusted for inflation.
IAGC
has also requested the creation of a full-time dedicated position at
ISBE to oversee gifted education. Duties would include ensuring
compliance with the Accelerated Placement Act and Report Card Act and
related data-reporting requirements and providing support to schools and
families regarding acceleration, gifted services, and teacher training.
This professional would also facilitate meetings of the Advisory
Council on the Education of Gifted and Talented Children and assist
their collaboration with the State Advisory Council on the Education of
Children with Disabilities to support evidence-based practices to meet
the needs of twice-exceptional children, which would finally fulfill the
intent of the twice-exceptional section of the school code enacted in
2010.
Office of Civil Rights Data
On October 15, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights released data collected for the 2017-2018 school year.
According to Dr. Scott J. Peters of the University of Wisconsin,
Whitewater, the data shows that out of 4,145 Illinois schools, only 787
report having students in gifted/talented programs, which represents a
meager 19% of all schools. Clearly there is much work to be done in our
state to ensure equal access for our high-potential learners.
If you would like to view the data for your local school, visit the Civil Rights Data Collection website.
School-level data can be found under “School and District Search.”
Enter school information under Basic Search to select a school to
review. Gifted/talented enrollment can be found in the data listed under
“Pathways to College and Career Readiness.”
Upcoming Meeting
All IAGC members and others interested in furthering the needs of gifted education in Illinois are encouraged to attend the Policy and Advocacy Committee's next online meeting on November 7 from 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM. Please register so we can anticipate your attendance and send a link to participants a few days before the Committee Meeting.
