Gifted education in Georgia

Gifted Education in public schools is mandated by Georgia law and is governed by the Georgia Board of Education (GBOE) Rule 160-4-2-.38 and GBOE-approved regulations. The GBOE Gifted Education Rule was initiated November 13, 1997, reinitiated January 8, 1998 and then adopted on February 12, 1998 in the final form.
"Giftedness" under Georgia law.
According to Georgia law, a gifted student is:
a student who demonstrates a high degree of intellectual and/or creative ability(ies), exhibits an exceptionally high degree of motivation, and/or excels in specific academic fields, and who needs special instruction and/or special ancillary services to achieve at levels commensurate with his or her abilities.
Two Options for Eligibility:
Option A - GaDOE rule 160-4-2-.08 (1990): A student must meet eligibility requirements in both Mental Abilities and Achievement.
Option B - GaDOE rule 160-4-2-.038 (1997): The Multiple-Criteria eligibility rule is based upon (1) mental ability, (2) achievement, (3) creativity and (4) motivation.
Educator requirements.
For a teacher to teach a gifted students in a designated gifted education class, they must be certified by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and either hold the Gifted In-field Endorsement or the Gifted P-12 Consultative.
Delivery models.
Direct services.
Resource Class (K-12) -- All students must have been identified as gifted using criteria established by the Georgia State Board of Education. The Resource Class Model is designed to meet the needs of gifted learners outside the regular classroom/core curriculum—-it provides students time to explore areas of interest in depth; opportunity to dig into complex, interdisciplinary studies; activities to help them develop research skills, creative thinking and creative productivity skills; time to be together with intellectual peers (which is important for both social-emotional and motivational reasons). The Resource Model is not intended for delivery of core content instruction, but the classes should have an academic content foundation focused on interdisciplinary enrichment activities.
Advanced Content Class (6-12) -- This is the most used delivery model for gifted education services in the middle and high schools in Georgia. Students are homogeneously grouped on the basis of achievement and interest in a specific academic content area. The local school district may elect to include other high-achieving students who are not identified as gifted but who have demonstrated exceptional ability and motivation in a particular content area.
Depending on the needs of the students, the services might include:
Cluster Grouping (K-12) -- Identified gifted students are placed as a group of 5-8 into an otherwise heterogeneous classroom, rather than being dispersed among all of the rooms/courses at that grade level. General education teachers differentiate instruction for students based on their area of strength or interest.
Indirect services.
Collaborative Teaching (K-12) -- Direct instruction may be provided by a regular classroom teacher, but there must be substantial, regularly scheduled collaborative planning between the content area teacher and the gifted education specialist (the teacher with the gifted endorsement who is serving as the instructional facilitator).
Mentorship/Internship (9-12) -- A gifted student works with a mentor to explore a profession of interest.
Joint Enrollment/Postsecondary Options-- High school students may be enrolled in college, university, or technical school courses.