6A-6.030191. Development of Educational Plans for Exceptional Students Who Are Gifted

Educational Plans (EPs) are developed for students whose only identified exceptionality is gifted. For a student identified as gifted in accordance with Rule 6A-6.03019, F.A.C., and who is also identified as a student with a disability, as defined in paragraph 6A-6.03411(1)(f), F.A.C., the strengths, needs and services associated with a student’s giftedness must be addressed in the student’s individual educational plan (IEP) consistent with the requirements in Rule 6A-6.03028, F.A.C. Parents are partners with schools and school district personnel in developing, reviewing, and revising the EP for their child. Procedures for the development of the EPs for exceptional students who are gifted, including procedures for parental involvement, shall be set forth in each district’s Policies and Procedures for the Provision of Specially Designed Instruction and Related Services to Exceptional Students document and shall be consistent with the following requirements.

(1) Role of parents. The role of parents in developing EPs includes:

(a) Providing critical information regarding the strengths of their child;

(b) Expressing their concerns for enhancing the education of their child so that they receive a free appropriate public education;

(c) Participating in discussions about the child’s need for specially designed instruction;

(d) Participating in deciding how the child will be involved and progress in the general curriculum; and,

(e) Participating in the determination of what services the school district will provide to the child and in what setting.

(2) Parent participation. Each school board shall establish procedures that shall provide for parents to participate in decisions concerning the EP. Such procedures shall include the following:

(a) Each district shall take the following steps to ensure that one or both of the parents or legal guardians of a student who is gifted is present or is afforded the opportunity to participate at each EP meeting:

1. Notifying parents or legal guardians of the meeting early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend; and,

2. Scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed on time and place.

(b) A written notice of the meeting must be provided to the parents or legal guardians and must indicate the purpose, time, location of the meeting, and who, by title and or position, will be attending. The notice must also include a statement informing the parents that they have the right to invite an individual with special knowledge or expertise about their child.

(c) If neither parents or legal guardians can attend, the school district shall use other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls or video conferencing.

(d) A meeting may be conducted without a parent in attendance if the school district is unable to obtain the attendance of the parents. In this case, the district must have a record of its attempts to arrange a mutually agreed on time and place such as:

1. Detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls;

2. Copies of correspondence sent to the parents and any responses received; or

3. Detailed records of visits made to the parents’ home or place of employment and the results of those visits.

(e) The district shall take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the parents understand the proceedings at an EP meeting, which may include arranging for an interpreter for parents and students who are deaf or whose native language is a language other than English.

(f) The district shall give the parents a copy of the EP at no cost to the parents.

(3) EP team participants. The EP team shall include the following participants:

(a) The parents of the student in accordance with subsection (2) of this rule;

(b) One regular education teacher of the student who, to the extent appropriate, is involved in the development and review of the student’s EP. Involvement may be the provision of written documentation of the student’s strengths and needs;

(c) At least one teacher of the gifted program;

(d) A representative of the school district who is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students who are gifted, is knowledgeable about the general curriculum, and is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the school district. At the discretion of the school district, one of the student’s teachers may be designated to also serve as the representative of the school district;

(e) An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results who may be a member of the team as described in paragraphs (3)(b)-(d) of this rule;

(f) At the discretion of the parent or the school district, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student. The determination of knowledge or special expertise of any individual shall be made by the party who invites the individual to be a member of the EP team; and,

(g) The student, as appropriate.

(4) Contents of EPs. EPs for students who are gifted must include:

(a) A statement of the student’s present levels of performance which may include the student’s strengths and interests; the student’s needs beyond the general curriculum; results of the student’s performance on state and district assessments; and evaluation results;

(b) A statement of goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives;

(c) A statement of the specially designed instruction to be provided to the student;

(d) A statement of how the student’s progress toward the goals will be measured and reported to parents; and,

(e) The projected date for the beginning of services, and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services;

(5) Considerations in EP development, review and revision. The EP team shall consider the following:

(a) The strengths of the student and needs resulting from the student’s giftedness.

(b) The results of recent evaluations, including class work and state or district assessments.

(c) In the case of a student with limited English proficiency, the language needs of the student as they relate to the EP.

(6) Timelines. Timelines for EP meetings for students who are gifted shall include the following:

(a) An EP must be in effect at the beginning of each school year.

(b) An EP shall be developed within thirty (30) calendar days following the determination of eligibility for specially designed instruction and shall be in effect before the provision of these services.

(c) Meetings shall be held to develop and revise the EP at least every three (3) years for students in Kindergarten ‒ grade 8 and at least every four (4) years for students in grades 9-12. EPs may be reviewed more frequently as needed, such as when the student transitions from elementary to middle school and middle to high school or if the student’s parent or teacher requests a review.

(7) EP implementation. An EP must be in effect before specially designed instruction is provided to an eligible student and is implemented as soon as possible following the EP meeting.

(a) The EP shall be accessible to each of the student’s teachers who are responsible for the implementation.

(b) Each teacher of the student shall be informed of specific responsibilities related to implementing the student’s EP.

Rulemaking Authority 1001.02(1), (2)(n), 1003.01(3)(a), (b), 1003.57(1) FS. Law Implemented 1001.42(4)(l), 1003.01(3)(a), (b), 1003.57 FS. History–New 9-20-04, Amended 1-7-16.