AL SB118

Authorizes the State Department of Education to award competitive two-year start-up grants to public schools for developing new programs serving gifted or talented children, subject to available funding.

Grants are awarded for one year with rebuttable presumption of renewal for an additional year based on available funding; number of schools receiving grants depends on fiscal year funding levels.

Grant evaluation must consider curriculum quality, instructor qualifications, school integration, preference for programs during school day or with after-school transportation, and explicit encouragement of participation from underserved populations.

Requires all funded programs to assess impact on participating students' academic growth and mandates the department adopt explicit evaluation rules with scoring made public.

Defines "gifted or talented children" as ages 4-19 (or until high school diploma) with outstanding abilities in areas including general intellectual ability, specific academics, creative thinking, leadership, visual/performing arts, or psychomotor skills.