Gifted in Illinois has changed! In August 2017, the state of Illinois signed the School Report Card Act and the Accelerated Placement Act into law, mandating school district policies and procedures regarding gifted students and acceleration. Both of these went into effect on July 1, 2018. What are these acts, what do they mean for your family, and how can you help? This article breaks down the details of these.
What is the School Report Card Act?
The School Report Card Bill was created to make accountability for the performance of gifted students required. Prior to this act, most legislation regarding gifted education in Illinois was left up to individual school districts. This, unfortunately, meant that many gifted students were not identified or served appropriately, particularly low-income students, who make up 54% of students in Illinois public schools.
The Report Card Act helps with this issue by mandating that the State Board of Education publish data regarding the identification and service of gifted students and report the demographic subgroups of these students. It also requires districts to report the number of teachers with gifted licensure and is working to add a category on the state report card for gifted students.
In a nutshell, this act works to streamline policies and procedures for gifted students across the state. It also emphasizes data, specifically for the purpose of reaching low-income, high potential students across the state. You can read the bill in its entirety here.
What is the Accelerated Placement Act?
Acceleration refers to moving a child from one grade level to the next, sometimes for just one subject, and sometimes for the entire year (for example, a high-performing first grader is accelerated to second grade and remains with that peer group for the remainder of his or her education).
The Accelerated Placement Act mandates that each school district have a policy regarding acceleration that includes a fair decision-making process which includes parents, teachers, and other school personnel. The decision should follow a valid assessment process with multiple indicators, procedures for notifying parents about potential acceleration and the final decision, and an open policy that includes all students who would benefit from acceleration, not just those already identified as gifted. This act also requires the Illinois State Board of Education to collect and publish data regarding acceleration. You can read the bill in its entirety here.
This act is important because acceleration is a research-based strategy to meet the needs of exceptionally gifted children, yet it is underutilized in most states. Many parents and teachers worry about the social and emotional drawbacks of acceleration, even though research has proven that most children have a neutral or positive experience when allowed to accelerate. This means that acceleration works, but we just need a system to make it available.
How to Support These Acts
A huge way for families to support these acts and their local school districts is to advocate for funding. More strategic testing, additional meetings, and new data reporting all require more professional development and resources, and it’s important that school funding reflects these new requirements. As a parent, you can advocate for this funding as well as resources at local school board meetings. You can also advocate at school board meetings for resources to support this new legislation and professional development for strategies to support gifted learners.
You may also hear a call for action in your local school district for parents and teachers to submit public comments, reach out to legislators, and submit witness slips in favor of bills. If you’re willing and able, responding to these calls to action is a great way to make your voice heard.
On a personal level, make sure you advocate for your children. If you think your child would benefit from acceleration, or you feel that your child isn’t getting the gifted education services that he or she needs to be successful, know your legislation and act on it. Reach out first to the school, and then to the district and school board if necessary. As a parent, you are an active stakeholder in the education of your children and your voice deserves to be heard.
