House Bill 1404 would require school districts to develop an assessment, referral, and placement process for these students
Legislation from Rep. Brandon Vick, aimed at improving school districts’ ability to identify and teach highly capable students, will receive a public hearing this week.
House Bill 1404 would require school districts to develop an assessment, referral, and placement process for these students. The bill calls for using multiple criteria to identify highly capable students and provide them with accelerated learning and enhanced instruction.
“Too many students who would qualify as ‘highly capable’ are not being served by school districts, simply because districts don’t have the right criteria to identify them,” said Vick, (Republican, Vancouver). “This bipartisan bill would standardize the process across all districts, which should help educators identify the students who need and deserve this service.”
The legislation would allocate state funding for basic education programs for highly capable students. It would also require the funds provided by the state for the highly capable student program to be targeted for services for specific categories of students, special programs, or special purposes, as determined by a school district. However, school districts would be required to use a portion of the funds to deliver professional development.
House Bill 1404 would also require each school district to conduct universal screenings to find students who need further assessment for potential gifted program placement.
“Every student is different, and each person learns in his or her own unique way. My goal with this legislation is to ensure every student in Washington gets the education he or she deserves, no matter their socio-economic status,” added Vick.
“This legislation would help highly capable students unlock their full potential. It would also benefit our highly capable students and their futures and have a positive impact on our state’s economy and workforce.”
The bill is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Education Committee on Tue., Feb. 9, at 8 a.m.
The 2021 legislative session began Jan. 11 and is scheduled to run 105 consecutive days.
Information provided by Washington State House Republicans, houserepublicans.wa.gov
