AL SB83

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

Grants are awarded for a single year with a rebuttable presumption of renewal for one additional year contingent on available funding, with the number of recipients determined by available fiscal resources.

Grant awards must consider curriculum quality, instructor qualifications, school integration, preference for traditional school day or after-school transportation programs, preference for programs serving underserved populations, and inclusion of academic growth assessment measures.

Department must adopt rules providing an explicit formula for evaluating grant proposals, with application scoring to be considered public information and comply with Chapter 39, Title 16 of Alabama Code.

Local boards of education must match any grant funds awarded by the department; grant funds cannot reduce other legislative funding for gifted or talented student programs.