BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                            SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                Alan Lowenthal, Chair
                               2011-12 Regular Session
                                          

          BILL NO:       AB 2491
          AUTHOR:        Blumenfield
          AMENDED:       March 29, 2012
          FISCAL COMM:   Yes            HEARING DATE:  June 27, 2012
          URGENCY:       No             CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill

           SUBJECT  :  Pupil instruction:  Gifted and talented students.
          
           SUMMARY:   

          This bill prohibits the State Board of Education from approving 
          a school district's application for a proposed gifted and 
          talented program for more than one year unless the application 
          describes the process used by the district to identify for 
          eligibility in the program pupils of ethnic minorities and 
          pupils of diverse socio-economic status 

           BACKGROUND  

          Existing law establishes the Gifted and Talented Pupil (GATE) 
          Program to support unique opportunities for high-achieving and 
          underachieving pupils who are identified as gifted and talented 
          and expresses the intent of the Legislature that special efforts 
          be made to ensure that pupils from economically disadvantaged 
          and varying cultural backgrounds be provided with full 
          participation in program.  
          (Education Code § 52201)

          Existing law requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to 
          maintain regulations governing the GATE program and requires the 
          Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to apportion funds to 
          school districts that offer GATE programs that have been 
          approved by the SBE.  (EC § 52203, § 52205)

          School districts that choose to offer a GATE program must submit 
          for approval by the SBE, an application in the "form and manner" 
          prescribed by the SPI.  Current law requires applications to be 
          approved or denied based on the quality of the plan in 
          accordance with criteria adopted by the SBE and requires the SBE 
          to review the criteria at least once every four years.  The SBE 
          revised the current criteria, Recommended Standards for Programs 




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          for Gifted and Talented Students in 2005.  Generally speaking, 
          applications are approved for one, two, or three years.  The SBE 
          is authorized to approve applications for a period of five years 
          if the program meets exemplary standards.  (EC § 52212)

          Existing law specifies that for the 2008-09 fiscal year through 
          the 2014-15 fiscal year, local educational agencies that receive 
          funds for specified categorical programs may use the funding 
          received during that time for any educational purpose to the 
          extent permitted by federal law.  Funding for GATE programs is 
          included in this categorical flexibility.  (EC § 42605)  
           ANALYSIS  

           This bill  prohibits the SBE from approving a school district's 
          application for a proposed GATE program for a period of more 
          than one year unless the application describes the process used 
          by the applicant school district to identify for eligibility in 
          the program, pupils of ethnic minorities and pupils of diverse 
          socioeconomic status.  

           STAFF COMMENTS  

           1)   Need for the bill.   According to the author, it is crucial 
               that gifted children living in disadvantaged situations 
               receive an appropriate education.  While many parents can 
               afford to provide extracurricular enrichment for their 
               gifted children, low-income parents often lack the 
               resources to provide these opportunities.  The author 
               maintains that there is under-identification of gifted and 
               talented students who are poor or don't speak English and 
               notes that the focus on English language acquisition may 
               obscure the recognition of high intelligence or talent.  
               Further, cultural differences or poverty may make it 
               difficult for some parents to be actively involved in the 
               schools and help their children access appropriate 
               programs.  Research shows that when gifted students are not 
               sufficiently challenged, their achievement levels drop and 
               they can be at risk for becoming an underachiever.  The 
               goal of this bill is to improve underrepresented students' 
               access to GATE programs.  

           2)   Gifted and Talented Education  .  GATE programs provide 
               differentiated curriculum for gifted and talented students, 
               defined as those who have been identified as possessing 
               demonstrated or potential abilities that give evidence of 
               high performance capability.  These abilities are defined 




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               by each school district in accordance with regulations 
               established by the SBE.  Current law requires each district 
               to use one or more of the following categories in defining 
               the capability:  intellectual, creative, specific academic 
               or leadership ability, high achievement, performing and 
               visual arts talent, or other criterion that meets standards 
               set by the SBE.  In 2008-09, the most recent year for which 
               enrollment data are available, there were approximately 
               533,000 GATE students in California.  

          School districts have the responsibility for the development of 
               a method for the identification of pupils as gifted and 
               talented.  The method of identification must be included in 
               the district's application to operate a GATE program.  The 
               application must demonstrate that the district's 
               identification procedures are equitable, comprehensive, and 
               ongoing.  Applications must address the nomination/referral 
               process used in the program, describe the 
               assessment/identification process to ensure that 
               potentially gifted students are appropriately assessed for 
               identification as gifted students, and describe service 
               options available within the program and between other 
               educational programs.  Applicants must also demonstrate 
               that placement is based on the assessed needs of the 
               student and is periodically reviewed.  

           3)   GATE demographics  .  According to the Mid-Atlantic Equity 
               Center at George Washington University,  the 
               disproportional representation of culturally, 
               linguistically, and ethnically diverse and low-income 
               students in gifted and talented programs has been a 
               persistent issue for many decades, with the percentage of 
               minority students constituting gifted and talented below 
               their percentage make up of total enrollment.  California 
               enrollment data for 2008 appears to support this finding.  
               For example, Hispanic or Latino students constituted about 
               49% of the total pupil population in 2008, but represented 
               only 31% of GATE statewide enrollment.  Although this bill 
               would require applicant districts to describe the process 
               used to identify students from diverse backgrounds who may 
               be eligible for GATE, the bill does not require that 
               description to meet any specific standard or best practice. 
                

           4)   Impact of categorical flexibility  .  The Gifted and Talented 
               Pupil Program is one of about 60 categorical programs that 




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               serve specific goals or populations.  GATE funding is 
               included in the categorical program flexibility (Tier 3), 
               allowing school districts to use GATE funding for any 
               educational purpose through the 2014-15 fiscal year.  

          It is unclear how many school districts have reduced or 
               eliminated GATE programs under categorical flexibility and 
               it is unclear how funding reduction has impacted enrollment 
               in GATE programs.  As a result of the flexibility, the CDE 
               has not required GATE programs to submit reports or 
               applications to continue to receive GATE funding during the 
               period of flexibility.  Further, the CDE indicates it has 
               suspended the review of applications and will not make GATE 
               applications available for local education agencies to 
               propose new GATE programs during the flexibility period.  
               Consequently, AB 2491 would have no effect or force until 
               Tier 3 flexibility expires in 2014-15 or later if the 
               Legislature extends it.  

          Given the uncertain implementation of AB 2491, staff recommends 
               the bill be amended to delete 52212(c) of the bill and 
               instead require the SBE to adopt a stronger standard for 
               pupil assessment and identification to ensure that GATE 
               programs meet the Legislature's intent that pupils from 
               economically disadvantaged and varying cultural backgrounds 
               are provided with full participation in the GATE program.  
               This approach would enable the SBE to specify the minimum, 
               commendable, and exemplary standards applicant districts 
               would need to meet with regard to determining pupil 
               eligibility and would provide a stronger mechanism to tie 
               the length of program approval to the quality of the 
               process described.  To minimize the cost associated with 
               strengthening the standard, this requirement should be 
               accomplished when the SBE next revises the 2005 standards.  


           SUPPORT
           
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, 
          AFL-CIO
          California Association for the Gifted

           OPPOSITION
           
          None received.





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