1. Advancing Federal Policies for Students with Gifts & Talents

2. Facts About Students with Gifts & Talents 2

3. Availability of services depend on state/local decisions & vary between and within states. 3

4. Facts About Students with Gifts & Talents Research has shown that high- achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds, when compared to their more advantaged peers, are: –twice as likely to drop out of school; –more likely to lose ground as they move forward in their schooling; and –less likely to attend or graduate from college. 4

5. Excellence Gap Gap between Caucasian and/or more affluent students and Hispanic, Black, less affluent peers. Every state has “excellence gap” that will take decades to close. 5

6. Federal Initiatives Senate: TALENT Act Sen. Grassley (R-IA) Sen. Mikulski (D-MD) Sen. Casey (D-PA) 6 House: TALENT Act Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)

7. TALENT Act Supporting Educator Development to Ensure Academic Growth Confronting and Addressing the National Excellence Gap Continuing Research and Dissemination on Best Practices in Gifted Ed Providing Public Transparency of Student Achievement Data 7

8. It’s Baaaacccckkkk….!!! Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act –Provides R&D – with focus on underserved populations –Defunded in 2011 after budget negotiations cut/eliminated 43 education programs –Concentrated advocacy resulted in $5 million in FY 2014 National Research Center on Gifted Education Demonstration Grants 8 Ask Your Senators/Representative to Co-Sponsor TALENT Act; Invest $20 M in Javits Act