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Students Who are Mentally Gifted:

All public schools, except charter schools, also offer special education services, in the form of acceleration or enrichment, for students who are identified by a gifted multidisciplinary team ("GMDT") as "mentally gifted." A child is considered mentally gifted when his or her cognitive ability or other factors, as determined by a multidisciplinary team evaluation, indicate that he or she has outstanding intellectual ability the development of which requires special programs and services not ordinarily available in the general education program. The school entity engages in screening activities during regular classroom instruction and uses the data thus generated to determine whether a GMDT evaluation is warranted. In addition, parents may request gifted screening or a GMDT evaluation at any time. Parents are part of the GMDT and, if their child is determined to be mentally gifted, are part of the development and annual review and revision of their child's gifted individualized educational program ("GIEP") as a member of the GIEP team. The GIEP describes the present levels, annual goals and measurable objectives, and specially designed instruction and related services through which the District will provide the enrichment or acceleration, or both, that is needed to develop the outstanding mental ability of the child. Parents of students who are mentally gifted have the right to request a special education due process hearing or to file a compliance complaint with the Pennsylvania Department of Education at the above address. Details concerning the procedures governing hearing requests can be found on the Website of the Office for Dispute Resolution at https://odr-pa.org. Other information can be found at the PA State Complaints and Dispute Resolution page at https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Special%20Education/Complaints/Pages/default.aspx.

A child can be identified as both a child with a disability and mentally gifted. In such cases, the rights of the child and his or her parents are governed by the rules applicable to children with disabilities and their parents, as described above.

PA School Code: Chapters 4, 12, 14, 15, and 16

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