SB101 Summary

• State Department of Education shall award grants to public schools for initiating new or continuing existing advanced educational programs for gifted or talented children, with the number of grants determined by available funding.

• Grants are awarded for a single year with a rebuttable presumption of renewal for one additional year contingent on available funding.

• Grant awards must consider curriculum quality, instructor qualifications, school integration, preference for programs during regular school day or with after-school transportation, preference for programs serving underserved populations, and assessment of program impact on student academic growth.

• Department must adopt rules with an explicit evaluation formula for grant proposals, and all application scoring shall be public information.

• Local boards of education must match up to 5 percent of awarded grant funds.